Winter has officially arrived, and light snow has been falling all day in Grey Castle Territory.
Ed sat listlessly in front of the fireplace. With no entertainment available, winter was the most torturous time of year.
Ed looked at the snow scene outside the window, picked up the hot tea next to him, and took a sip with relish.
"If only I had a book right now," Ed muttered to himself with a hint of regret.
"Master, what strange things are you saying again?"
Just then, Adelaide's voice interrupted Ed. Looking in Adelaide's direction, Ed suddenly had an idea.
Didn't we talk about teaching Adelaide to read last time? Now that it's winter and snowing and there's nothing else to do, it's a good time to teach Adelaide.
Although Ed had no books in his hands, he had them in his heart! He wasn't the kind of person who regretted not having enough knowledge when he needed it and would just say "Damn it, I'm leaving" when he needed it.
"Adelaide, didn't I say I'd teach you to recognize those interesting patterns? Now that it's winter, go and get the quill and parchment."
"Yes, Master, I'll go get it right away."
What should he teach? Ed hadn't figured it out. What simple yet interesting words could he use?
"Master, here you go," Adelaide placed the pen and wool paper on the table.
Ed picked up the quill pen, thought for a while, and then gave up on his grand pronouncements.
Finally, he wrote the word 'cake' on the parchment. He suddenly thought of this delicious food and realized that he might be able to make it himself someday and let Adelaide see what food that tasted better than wheat bread was like.
However, these two characters are a bit difficult to write because they have too many strokes.
"Master, these two patterns are so hard to draw!"
"Adelaide, come here and write this down, I'll teach you." Ed said, handing the quill pen to Adelaide.
Adelaide picked up a quill and started drawing on the parchment. Soon, a crooked "cake" appeared on the paper. Although the drawing wasn't very good, it was indeed the word "cake".
"Master, what do these two patterns mean?" Adelaide asked, looking at her masterpiece.
"These two patterns together make up a food item."
"Master, is this the thing you mentioned last time that tastes even better than wheat bread?"
"Yes, Adelaide, this thing called 'cake' is delicious."
"Ah! Really? Master, this stuff tastes even better than wheat bread?" Adelaide was a little incredulous.
Now she feels that there is nothing tastier than wheat bread.
"Why would I lie to you? It's really delicious. It's soft, fragrant, and sweet. Eating it is like biting into a cloud from the sky." Ed teased the little lamb like a big bad wolf.
Adelaide's eyes lit up. "Master, how do we make this 'cake'?"
Hearing Ed's words, Adelaide became even more eager to know if it tasted good.
Ed looked at her with a smile, "It's not good to do it now! How can you do it without sugar? We'll do it next spring when we find some honey."
It seems we're out of wheat flour too.
"Ah!" Adelaide was disappointed, but had no choice but to wait.
"Master, is there another way to pronounce this 'cake'?" Adelaide had heard Ed mention this before.
"Yes, Adelaide, these two patterns are read as 'cake dan gao'."
"dan gao dan gao dao gao"
Adelaide kept repeating this pronunciation.
After Ed corrected him several times
Adelaide's education is quite standard.
It seems Adelaide has a real talent for languages!
If schools are built in the territory in the future
Adelaide would definitely be a good teacher.