once, he went to a relative's house to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. As soon as he entered the door, he saw a book he wanted to read very much, so he forgot the fatigue of walking for dozens of miles, and immediately went to concentrate on reading the book and marking points with a pen. He was completely immersed in the book, and his relatives came to urge him to eat several times, but he was reluctant to put it down. Relatives brought him the freshly steamed Zanba, but he ate Zanba (cí) in his mouth, but his attention was on the book. Baba should have been dipped in sugar, but he actually put Baba into the inkstone and dipped it in ink to send it to his mouth. After a while, relatives brought him noodles again. Seeing that his mouth was full of ink, he called all his relatives and friends. Everyone couldn't help laughing. Chen Yi said quietly and humorously, "It doesn't matter if you eat some ink. I just think there is too little ink in my stomach."
Note: BaBa-BaBa is made by mashing cooked glutinous rice in a stone trough with a stone hammer, which is a popular food in some areas of southern China.
This short story shows that Chen Yi is very absorbed in reading.
Here is another story about Chen Yi eating ink:
Marshal Chen Yi, a proletarian revolutionary, loved learning very much when he was a teenager. Before entering school, he learned hundreds of words and recited some simple poems. After entering school at the age of five, he studied more carefully, and he was among the best in both reciting and writing.
On one occasion, Mr. Mao, a Chinese teacher, went to Chen Yi's home for lunch and saw a book made of a stack of papyrus, each of which was very thick. Chen Yi's father said to him, "This is the exercise book of Shi Jun (the scientific name of Chen Yi)." Teacher Mao was very surprised: "It's an exercise book. Why didn't you see a word on it?" It turned out that the Chen family had already gone bankrupt, and the family was too poor to buy paper and pens, but Chen Yi also stipulated to write 5 big characters and 1 small characters every day. In order to save money for the family, Chen Yi dipped his pen in rice soup and practiced calligraphy on the toilet paper. After writing for a long time, the stack of toilet paper was turned into hard pieces of paper by rice soup. Teacher Mao was very moved after knowing this. He stroked Chen Yi's head and said, "Practice hard, son!" Chen Yi loves reading very much, and often takes books with him. When he has time, he looks at a few pages. If he finds a good book, he is like a treasure, and he often forgets to eat and sleep.
On another occasion, Chen Yi went to a relative's house for the Dragon Boat Festival. After entering the door, he saw a book on the table that he had been looking for for for a long time, so he forgot the fatigue of walking for dozens of miles and immediately hid in an empty room to concentrate on reading. While reading, he extracted important chapters with a pen. When he was eating, his relatives invited him several times, but he was reluctant to put the book down. Seeing that he worked so hard, his relatives couldn't bear to bother him any more, so they brought him sugar and sweets. Chen Yi's full attention was focused on books and excerpts. The rice cake was originally dipped in sugar, but he actually put the rice cake into the inkstone on the desk and dipped it in ink to send it to his mouth. He ate two rice cakes in a row, but he didn't taste the peculiar smell. After a while, relatives brought him noodles again. Seeing that his mouth was full of ink, he called his family to see it. Everyone couldn't help laughing. At first, Chen Yi didn't know what everyone was laughing at. He wiped his mouth with his hand and saw a lot of ink on his hand, only to know that he had eaten ink by mistake. He humorously said to everyone, "It doesn't matter if I ate ink, I just think there is too little ink in my stomach!"