He bought complete editions of the Tang and Song-dynasty poems on a payment plan to improve his writing skills, and also began devouring "linked chapter" novels. The books introduced him to so many unfamiliar words that he was obliged to read with a dictionary by his side.
小小哀嘆之餘，他一整個人已經稀哩糊塗闖入了一條詩的「旁門左道」，也生平第一次明白「求知若渴」是什麼滋味。為了讓自己寫得更像樣，他分期付款買《全唐詩》、《全宋詞》自修，也硬啃章回小說，很多字不認得，只能抱著字典一個一個查。