Restaurant
"Zhou Yu, I want to buy some fish seeds*. Do you know who sells them in the village?" When Zhou Yu came to the house to report, Shen Yanbei grabbed the person and asked.
*raw wrote yúmiáo: fry: a small fish hatched from the roe for breeding.
Zhou Yu scratched his head. "No one in our village raises fish. But the family of the newly married eldest daughter-in-law of Uncle Shen's Family is in Dongtang Village on the edge of the Dongjiang River. The people of Dongtang Village breed lotus roots and raise fish. You can go to ask to Uncle Shen's house."
Shen Yanbei knew it well. He straightly went to Uncle Shen's house that day.
A small fish hatched from roe for breeding.
"You want to buy fish seeds?" Uncle Shen's eldest daughter-in-law, Shen Liu-shi frowned and said bluntly, "I have some in my family. But the fish seeds are ordinary domestic fish. The color is not as dark as the koi. So it is not suitable for viewing and admiring. "
It was no wonder she thought so. Scholars liked to play wind and moon* most. In addition to reading and writing, they also planted flowers, fish, and went for a walk in a quiet place with a bird to cultivate their temperament.
*fēngyuè: wind and moon, generally refers to the scenery; refers to the love affairs of men and women.
Shen Yanbei smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you are misunderstood. What I want to buy are domestic fish seeds."
Koi was indeed prosperous and beautiful. Wut what he had to do now was to earn money. So he didn't have the leisure to watch and admire fish.
Shen Liu-shi was curious, but she was not familiar with Shen Yanbei. She had only heard of the name of Master Xiucai of Shenjia Village, so she was ashamed to ask him what he wanted to do with fish seeds.
"Then how much do you want?"
Shen Yanbei asked the price and said the number. Shen Liu-shi then was even more curious. Shen Yanbei wanted so many fish seeds. Were those to raise fish? But there was no fish pond in the Shen's Family!
"When do you want it? I'll tell my elder brother and send it over at that time."
"Send it in five days. I'm bothering my sister-in-law."
The village head helped him to order seedlings and find someone to farm. After the paddy field was cleaned, the seeds had to be soaked for two days. After five days later, then it worked.
"You are welcome." Shen Liu-shi smiled shyly. She now thought that Shen Xiucai was not as arrogant and rude as rumors.
Shen Yanbei was about to leave. Before he left, a fat man with a round face appeared outside the fence. The fat man watched the harmonious atmosphere, his eyebrows were somewhat similar to Uncle Shen.
Shen Yanbei turned over the memory of the original owner. He smiled slightly and said, "Laifu Gē."
What a coincidence, he was looking for this person!
The fat man was stunned. He looked at Shen Yanbei hesitantly. "Shen Xiucai?"
During these two days, when he returned to the village, the one he heard the most was about Shen Yan Xiucai. He still doubted whether the villagers said it was true. He didn't expect to verify it face to face soon. The young man in front of him, with a smile at the corner of his mouth and his calm eyes, was far from the arrogant Master Xiucai in his memory!
Was it really a character change?
Shen Yanbei nodded. "Laifu Gē, why are you back?"
Shen Laifu smiled bitterly. "It's time for plowing in spring. I'll go back to help if I have nothing to do." After speaking, he looked at Shen Yanbei. "Why do you come to my house? Are you here to find Father?"
Shen Yanbei shook his head. "I'm asking my sister-in-law to buy some fish seeds."
Shen Laifu felt weird. He was about to ask what he was buying fish seeds for. But he heard Shen Yanbei said, "I have something to talk about. Can we?"
Shen Laifu was full of doubts. He was just a cook who could only cook. What did Shen Xiucai ask him about? But when Shen Yanbei was discussing business with him, he almost couldn't hold the joy.
"You mean that you want to buy the restaurant and hire me to be a chef?" Shen Laifu's voice changed with excitement, staring eagerly at Shen Yanbei.
"That's right." Shen Yanbei's eyes were serious. "I've seen the restaurant. The location is pretty good. If you manage it well, you may be able to make a profit."
Although Shen Laifu was excited, his mind was still very calm. "Shen Yan, do you know how much money it would cost to buy such a restaurant?"
The consumption in the small county town was not high, but this restaurant was in a prosperous area on the street. So it couldn't be taken away without two or three hundred taels.
Thinking of this, Shen Laifu had some doubts in his eyes. "Can you get so much money?"
He didn't stay in the village often, but still understood things about Shenjia Village. His father sent vegetables to the restaurant every day and would talk to him about the village from time to time. Shen Xiucai was seriously ill before and bought an ugly Shuānger to help him. But he was so poor that their wedding even without having a wedding drink.
Faced with Shen Laifu's doubts, Shen Yanbei did not explain too much. He said, "It's true that branches grow where they shouldn't*. If Laifu Gē is free, can you come with me and talk to your old boss in person?"
*jié wài shēng zhī: metaphor has a new problem in addition to the original problem. Many fingers deliberately set up obstacles to prevent the problem from being resolved smoothly; new problems crop up unexpectedly; bring up unnecessary ramifications.
Shen Yanbei's posture didn't look like a joke. Shen Laifu was surprised.
After thinking about it, Shen Laifu wrinkled his face and sighed. "Even if you really have the money to buy the property, how can you, a scholar, know how to do business? Instead of losing money, it is better to save money and live with your family wife!"
Both Father Shen and Mother Shen were very kind people. Shen Laifu called them uncle and aunt when he met them. Shen's Family now only had Shen Yan, a scholar. These silvers might be last Shen's Family wealth. It was fine if he wants to use it. But if the other party lost the money because of this, Shen Laifu felt uneasy.
Shen Yanbei nodded secretly in his heart and said with a smile on his face, "Laifu Gē, I have already discussed with my wife how to operate this restaurant. Also, you can help us, Laifu Gē. You can still think about doing this business. Even if we don't manage it well in the future, there are still fields at home. So don't need to worry about food."
Shen Laifu persuaded him again, but Shen Yanbei insisted. Shen Laifu could only say, "Okay. If you really want to, I'll accompany you there now."
"Alright. I'll go back first to change clothes!"
"I'll be waiting for you at the entrance to the village."
Shen Yanbei walked home quickly. He took the silver ticket and took Gu Changfeng out.
"Wifey, let's go to the county to buy that restaurant!"
Gu Changfeng didn't expect him to move so fast. "Really want to buy?"
"Buy! You'll be the boss!" Shen Yanbei laughed while played with Gu Changfeng's hands. "It's far harder to farm than to do business. Also, the money comes quickly. If you want to live a good life, you can't only count on these two acres of land."
Gu Changfeng pursed his lips but did not answer. It was fine now. It didn't matter if he did farming all his life, but if Shen Yanbei yearned for another relaxed lifestyle. It didn't matter. He would try to keep up with him.
Shen Laifu, who was waiting at the entrance of the village, sat in his bullock cart. He saw Shen Yanbei from a distance and beckoned to him. When he saw Shen Yanbei with a tall man next to him, he was so curious about this man who looked unfamiliar. Which family this relative from? When Shen Yanbei came closer, he suddenly remembered that this tall and strong man was not someone else, but the husband whom Shen Yanbei had just married!
Looking up at Gu Changfeng who was tall more one head from him, Shen Laifu swallowed. He barely pulled out a smile. "Shen Yan, this is your..." He wanted to talk 'Shuānger you bought', but saw Shen Yanbei brought the person here. Obviously, this Shuānger weighted Shen Yanbei's heart. So he hurriedly changed his words. "This is your husband. Really..."
Speaking of this, Shen Laifu paused again. The other party had a masculine and cold face that far away from beautiful and graceful. He had to suffocate a word- "Really sturdy!"
Shen Yanbei. "..."
F*ck your uncle. Did you know how to praise? Although he loved the muscles of his wife to death, his wife might not be happy after hearing it!
Sure enough, Gu Changfeng's eyes flashed. Shen Yanbei quickly held his hand and smiled at him.
Gu Changfeng lowered his head and nodded slightly.
"Haha..."
This Shuānger looked really imposing. Shen Laifu wiped the non-existent cold sweat on his forehead and told the two of them to get into the car.
Shen Yanbei lowered his voice to Gu Changfeng. "It was my fault. I forgot to tell Laifu Gē that I take you with me."
His wife was so sexy, but others might not appreciate it!
Knowing what Shen Yanbei meant, Gu Changfeng said in a faint voice. "I don't worry about it..."
What did others think, what did it have to do with him? He just...
Shen Yanbei turned Gu Changfeng's face around and gave a quick kiss. Then pointed to his own face and smiled. "Come... Kiss this Lord too!"
Gu Changfeng's cheeks were hot. He clenched his fists. "...someone is watching."
Shen Laifu, who was driving in front, heard the sound from behind but sweated profusely in the bright and cool morning.
...
The ox cart swayed for half an hour before arriving in the county. Shen Laifu put the ox cart and took Shen Yanbei to the yard behind the restaurant to find the owner.
In the yard, the owner's wife was standing at the window and complaining.
"Dāngjiāde*, we have to leave, the father-in-law can't wait! Don't regret it if èrfáng** will give it a cheap price!"
*the head of a family; husband.
**The second member of the old family.
"Hurry Hurry! Do you think I don't want to leave? I bought this place with a full two hundred and fifty taels. These guys who fish in trouble waters* is unreasonable, bargain two hundred taels. Laozi would die by losing money!" The owner replied cursingly.
*chènhuǒdǎjié: take advantage of others' difficulties for one's own benefit.
"Don't lose a great deal through trying to save a little! Go back and look after your old father. We can't tell if when the time comes to divide up family property and live apart, only will give you a few hundred taels!"
"I…"
Shen Laifu stepped forward and knocked on the door: "Lǎo Dōngjia*, open the door!"
*Old Owner.
After a moment, a mustache middle-aged man dressed in rich and noble clothes opened the door. His gaze passed by Shen Laifu and fell on the body of Shen Yanbei, who looked refined and gentle with the character of the eight-character Hu*. "This Gōngzǐ... What's the matter?"
* from the physiognomy point of view, the character of the eight-character Hu is very cheerful, lively, and even humorous. While the one-character Hu is rigid and rigorous.
Shen Yanbei said, "I Shen Yan from Shenjia Village. I heard Laifu Gē said that this restaurant is gonna be sold. So I came to talk to the owner."
The owner was overjoyed. "It turns out to be Shen Gōngzǐ. Impoliteness... Impoliteness! Please come in!"
He moved sideways so Shen Yanbei could enter the store and noticed Gu Changfeng behind him. The owner thought that Shen Gōngzǐ also brought a servant. It must be that his family background pretty good! He was secretly happy. But when Shen Yanbei introduced Gu Changfeng to him, the owner almost dropped his jaw.
"This is my husband. He wants to buy your store. I wonder what the selling price of your store is?"
On the way here, he had already asked Shen Laifu about the situation in the store and asked about the market price. He had a general idea about the price.
The owner looked at Gu Changfeng, who was sitting there with a strong physique and a calm face, then at Shen Yanbei, who was standing beside him with a thin and handsome appearance. His mouth wide opened and was speechless for a while.
Shen Laifu said, "Lǎo Dōngjia, this is Master Xiucai of our village. Can you give us a suitable price?"
"Master Xiucai?" The owner re-examined Shen Yanbei and said, "Because you are introduced by the Lǎo Huǒjì*. For the sake of him, I'll give you two hundred and eighty taels!"
* partner; a business associate.
Shen Yanbei raised his eyebrows. Meanwhile, Shen Laifu frowned.
Seeing Shen Yanbei's silence, the owner was a little unhappy. "My restaurant has a good location and there are many guests. There are wing rooms behind the restaurant. If it isn't for the rush, I won't sell it under three hundred taels of silver."
"Two hundred and twenty taels." Gu Changfeng, who didn't speak before, looked directly at the owner with his black eyes. He said in a voice calm, "Only this price then we can go through the transfer procedures now. If we can't, we will leave."
The owner was taken aback by him.
Shen Yanbei looked down at Gu Changfeng in amazement. Gu Changfeng's expression was the same color as usual. But if you observed, you would find that his eyes were much harsher than before.
"How is it?"
The voice fell heavily in his ears, the owner suddenly recovered. The owner trembled and hesitated for a moment. Then he finally gritted his teeth and said in pain, "Okay! If two hundred and twenty, then it's two hundred and twenty!"
Shen Yanbei immediately took out two hundred and twenty taels of silver bills. The owner's heart hurt even more. But time was running out, so he could only endure his heartache. He took the title deed and he and trio Shen Yanbei ran to the yamen to complete the procedures.
"Wifey, you are amazing! I originally planned to use two hundred and fifty taels for this restaurant!" On the way home, Shen Yanbei praised Gu Changfeng.
Gu Changfeng's face blushed. "I just heard their conversation before. The owner said that he bargained for 250 taels, but the people who intended to buy the restaurant only gave them two hundred taels in the past two days..."
"Unexpectedly, my wife. Not to mention you can do martial arts, you also are good at bargaining! You can hear what the other party is saying from far away!" Shen Yanbei grabbed his hand and said with a smile.
Gu Changfeng pursed his lips and made a soft "um" sound.
Shen Yanbei was in a better mood. He shook Gu Changfeng's hand and kissed him. "When we finish the spring plowing, we will redecorate the restaurant. Um, I have thought of the name, it is called Tongfu Restaurant!"
"What do you think?"
"...Good." Gu Chang covered his red ear. But the heart was hotter than the face.
He Originally thought that when Shen Yanbei said that putting the restaurant under his name meant that he should be his face-to-face owner. But Shen Yanbei directly put his name on the transfer document of the restaurant and asked him to press his handprint!
It stood to reason that as a slave, he couldn't own private property. But the transfer document bore the official seal of the county government, which was clear and effective! The only explanation was- Shen Yanbei had removed his slave status!
Good Day
The eighth day of March was a good day for construction and groundbreaking. Early in the morning, the mason came with tiles and tools to repair the roof for Shen Yanbei.
In fact, Shen Yanbei wanted to ask someone to paint the wall. But what he had done in the past few days had been conspicuous enough, so there was not much money left at home. Also, if they wanted to paint the wall, it must be pushed back*.
*qián wǎn hòu tuī: with some people drawing in the front and others pushing in the rear.
Master Mason Wang was a man in his forties. He had been in this business for many years. He was among the people who were invited by the original owner to build the house.
It didn't take much effort to just change the tiles. Just took off the broken tiles, put mud on the tiles, and covered them with new tiles. There was no cement in ancient times. The masons here used a mixture of lime mortar and yellow clay as a binder when building houses. Shen Yanbei frowned slightly at the gray mud in the barrel.
When he visited the Great Wall before, he was curious about how the ancients completed such a huge project without cement. So he went online to check how the Great Wall was built without cement. The information on the Internet mentioned how the ancients built walls. The first was to use yellow mud and straw. Later invented lime mortar, but the strength of lime mortar was not high. So it was difficult to build a large building and couldn't be constructed in a humid environment. People tried their best to transform the lime mortar and came up with a way to mix the yellow clay with higher viscosity into the lime mortar. People in coastal areas had come up with another adhesive tile topping agent that had much better properties than lime mortar, called a mirage*. The so-called mirage was the ashes obtained by calcining seashells. The effect of mirage and yellow clay was better than ever!
*shèn huī.
The new lime material that had a better reinforcement effect than mirage was Sanhe soil*. The lime clay and sand were combined with water in a certain proportion to become the ancient Chinese version of "concrete"! This kind of triple soil had been widely used. But later generations discovered a more advanced building material, that was glutinous rice lime paste.
*sān hé tǔ.
The sticky glutinous rice paste was mixed into lime mortar. The glutinous rice acted as a natural binder, which greatly improved the firmness of the mortar. Bridges and walls built with glutinous rice lime mortar, such as the Great Wall, had stood tall for a hundred years.
Shenjia Village was located in the south. Many people planted glutinous rice, but no one used this glutinous rice lime paste to build houses.
The use of glutinous rice lime slurry had been popularized in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Corn and peanuts, which were introduced in the Ming Dynasty, began to be planted in the previous time and space...
Thinking of this, Shen Yan jumped his eyebrows and suddenly remembered something. Corn and peanuts were introduced during the Ming Dynasty, and another crop was also introduced into China during the Ming Dynasty- pepper!
Shen Yanbei was a little frustrated. There were corn peanuts, why were there no peppers? How come there were no such delicious things such as chili!
Just about to sigh, Shen Yanbei remembered another thing! When the pepper was introduced to the Ming Dynasty, it was not used in the diet, but as a precious plant for viewing!
Shen Yanbei's eyes lit up.
He didn't find the chili in the field. Could the chili at this time be used as a potted plant by a gentry or powerful person at home for a viewing?
Thinking of this possibility, Shen Yanbei was so excited! But reality poured him a bucket of cold water.
How did he, a poor Xiucai, knew any gentry and powerful person?
"Shen Xiucai!"
A shout made Shen Yanbei recovered. Turning around, he saw that the two apprentices of the carpenter drove the bullock cart. There were many plates on the bullock cart.
His custom-made furniture was here! Shen Yanbei hurriedly stepped forward to greet the two.
In the spring, the warm sunshine filled the branches, the breeze blew, the flowers and branches swayed, and even people's hearts were swayed. Shen Yanbei politely asked people to move the furniture into the house, the smile on his face was brighter than that of spring.
The big bed he booked was here! He finally could have a good night's sleep with his wife!
Gu Changfeng was feeding the chicken cubs and ducklings in the backyard. When he heard the movement, he washed his hands to help. But Shen Yanbei stopped him.
"Your internal injury is still not healed, so don't mess around." Shen Yanbei grabbed Gu Changfeng's hand and whispered.
There were people in the room. Gu Changfeng was a little uncomfortable, but he still obediently grabbed Shen Yanbei's hands. Shen Yanbei was afraid because Gu Changfeng had nothing to do, he would be bored. So he said, "Zhou Yu will come over later. You can take him to behind the mountain to practice martial arts."
Gu Changfeng nodded dully. Shen Yanbei scratched his palm and chuckled. "What do you want to eat at noon? I will make it for you."
The palm of his hand was itchy because of being scratched. Gu Changfeng lowered his eyes and said, "I want to eat everything you make."
Hearing this, Shen Yanbei squinted his eyes. "Go. I'll call you to eat later."
Gu Changfeng raised his eyes to look at him, made an "um", and left the door.
The two carpenters and apprentices who were assembling the cabinet looked at each other. Both saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
Wasn't that Shen Xiucai extremely displeased with his husband and made him worked as a slave?
Yes. Last time they saw this Shuānger worked at the dock with their own eyes! But the atmosphere of the two people talking softly just now was not like that at all! Didn't this Shen Xiucai seem to have changed? The last time they looked at him from a distance, they just thought this man was incredibly arrogant. But now...looked old and kind?
...
Seeing the two people set up the cabinet, Shen Yanbei smiled slightly and said, "It's hard work to put the cabinet on this end."
In order to place this new furniture, he specially cleaned up one of the vacant rooms. The windows were bright and clean. It seemed a bit like decorating a new house.
The two were flattered and dared not communicate in private anymore. They carefully moved the cabinet over. These days, there were no nails and screws, but these furnitures were made very strong.
Shen Yanbei was curious about how the furniture was assembled. So he stood aside and watched. After discovering the trick, he secretly praised the wisdom of the ancients. Originally, all furniture was assembled by a connection method that combined concave and convex parts. Without a nail, the furniture could be made as natural, beautiful, and environmentally friendly.
The two apprentices were both skilled and quickly assembled all the furniture.
Looking at the new bed and cabinets, Shen Yanbei was very satisfied. But the eyes of the carpenter's apprentices were not quite right.
This bed was too plain and simple. Just a few wooden boards and beams. Not to mention carving dragons and phoenixes, it didn't even have a carved flower. There was also a small square cabinet on the side of the bed. There was nothing on it. It looked like a box...
What strange was that these simple furniture looked quite simple and stable.
Shen Yanbei also knew that his custom-made furniture looked weird in the eyes of the ancients. But no way! It would take a few months to buy furniture but it only lasted a year or a half for a long time. He was anxious to get a new bed as soon as possible and as a big man, he didn't need such fancy furniture. So he drew the style of modern furniture directly to the carpenter. The carpenter saw it, yes, there happened to be wood. □ □ Heavenly! So he readily gave the money.
Sending away the two apprentices of the carpenter, Shen Yanbei looked up. The sun was rising high and burning.
"Master Wang, the sun is scorching people. Come down and take a break?"
"It's okay. Just 2 pieces remaining left." Master Wang waved his hand politely, his calm expression full of emotion. A long time ago, when everyone came together to build this blue brick house, the Shen's Family was full of spirits. Unexpectedly, the time has passed, but Shen's Family wasn't as glorious as before. Hopefully, it wasn't too late to make it up.
Hearing that, Shen Yanbei could only put the water on the table under the shade of the tree, turned around, and went into the house to continue to clean up.
The paint painted on ancient furniture was a natural paint made from the sap of the lacquer tree. It had no chemical components harmful to the human body and could be used directly without drying it first. Shen Yanbei put new sheets and quilts on the new bed made by the villagers and planned to take a nap here later.
He did not intend to make himself suffering under such circumstances. It was more impossible to let his wife suffering!
...
Chang Feng took Zhou Yu to find a desolate place to practice martial arts. Anyway, today's practice actually was just to watch Zhou Yu doing horse steps.
"Do it for one hour. Don't be lazy."
"Yes, Shīfu!" Zhou Yulang replied, looking straight ahead and practicing seriously.
Gu Changfeng sat down with his legs crossed, trying to exercise his breath. He was injured very badly at the beginning, causing his meridians were blocked. So it made stagnating his breath, that generally no different with a good-for-nothing person. The day Shen Yanbei had just being transmigrated through, he forcibly transferred his internal force to Shen Yanbei, as a result, his injuries worsened. Later, after getting a few packs of medicine in the county medical clinic, it did not cure the symptoms, so the injury did not improve much.
But, Shen Yanbei had taken care of his injury these days, fortunately, it was getting better. Even though he was a man with thick skin, he was treated like a fragile porcelain doll. Although he was not allowed to do heavy work, actually Shen Yanbei did not let him work at all. Instead, Shen Yanbei, a Master Xiucai, who had just recovered from a serious illness was busy cooking for him...
At first, he didn't want to be overwhelmed with this special favor at all. But Shen Yanbei said, I am your husband, as a husband, I must take care of my wife, it was an unquestionable moral truth. But with his stupid mouth how could he refuse Shen Yanbei?
When he heard that he was so happy but at the same time he was frightened. He was always worried that it was just a flower in the mirror, the moon in the water*.
*jìng huā shuǐ yuè: originally refers to the flexible and unpredictable artistic conception in the poem, but later it is a metaphor for the illusory scene.
With a "poof", a mouthful of blood came out.
"Shīfu!" Zhou Yu was shocked.
"I'm okay, it's just condensed blood." Gu Changfeng wiped the corners of his mouth, walked to the stream, and squatted down to wash away the blood on his face.
Zhou Yu still looked at him worriedly. Gu Changfeng stood up. "Is there still a bloodstain on my body?" Zhou Yu shook his head. Gu Changfeng said again, "Don't tell him."
No need to ask, Zhou Yu also knew who 'he' was. "Shīfu, are you really okay?"
Gu Changfeng's answer was directly cut off a tree as big as the mouth of a bowl.
"!" Zhou Yu's eyes widened.
"Go squat." Gu Changfeng frowned.
"Yes!" Zhou Yu hurriedly spread his feet shoulder-width apart and squatted down, still felt surprise.
Feeling that the internal force finally broke through the obstacle and recirculated, Gu Changfeng couldn't help but clenched his five fingers. His fingers bones sounded "pa pa", his arm muscles swelled up, full of explosive power...
For a moment, Gu Changfeng exhaled a stale breath, relieved his strength, and the muscles on the body have returned to their normal plump and smooth appearance. The lines on the cold face turned to be soft and Gu Changfeng's quiet black eyes shone with a hint of joy.
Although it was not that great, the internal force was now unimpeded, so to catch two rabbits alive was gonna be so easy!
I teach you
When Shen Yanbei came to find someone to come home for dinner, he saw this scene— a tall man chasing two rabbits in a hurry. The rabbit seemed to be frightened so it was struggling desperately in his hands. He also seemed to be afraid that his hands were too strong to accidentally pinch the rabbit to death. So he didn't dare to exert any effort. As a result, the rabbit escaped in his hands. It ran away! He frowned, then used both hands to catch two rabbits back!
Looking at his "lively" husband, Shen Yanbei felt a little itchy in his heart. If there wasn't an existence of minors here, he really wanted to drag him over and kiss him.
"What is this?"
Gu Changfeng turned his head to meet Shen Yanbei's smiling eyes, blushing with embarrassment when he thought that his funny appearance just now fell in the other's eyes. Carrying two rabbits hesitated, he said, "Don't you like little rabbits? The gray rabbits you played last time are not good-looking. It's better to raise a little white rabbit..."
Shen Yanbei was stunned, he couldn't laugh or cry. Never expected that his wife still remembers this, but he liked meat instead of rabbits. This palm-sized bunny looked cute, but in his eyes, it was a dish-□□, spicy rabbit head, sweet pot rabbit meat! But this was given to him by his wife, how could he say he didn't like it!
Shen Yanbei grabbed the two hind legs of the rabbit and looked at it, he smiled. "Wife, you are so amazing! This one male and one female, a couple, just give birth to little rabbits!"
Hearing this, Gu Changfeng's eyes flickered and he didn't dare to look at Shen Yanbei, but his face flushed even harder.
Seeing him like this, Shen Yanbei realized that his manly wife was a Shuānger who could give birth to a child. His words indeed were very suggestive. But his wife didn't refute but was shy, did he acquiesce that he also wanted to have children with him? Willing to give birth to his own child... Did this mean that his wife also liked him?
Shen Yanbei grinned unconsciously with a stupid smile.
Gu Changfeng coughed lightly and sent Zhou Yu home for dinner. He and Shen Yanbei each carried a rabbit and walked home. When they got home, they went to the backyard to make a nest for the rabbits with some grass in. After that, the two of them washed their hands and had dinner.
Today the menus: braised carp, salt and pepper shrimp, and cold wild vegetables. The fish had been specially processed, almost no earthy smell. The prawns were caught in the river. They were fried and drained then were sprinkled with Shen Yanbei's special salt and pepper. It made them fragrant and crispy, very delicious. Meanwhile, the wild vegetables were bitter and very greasy.
Gu Changfeng thought that since Shen Yanbei did the cooking, his appetite had greatly increased. While the other Shuang'er couldn't even finish two bowls of rice. He had to eat three bowls to fill his stomach. He was worried at first that Shen Yanbei would be disgusted by eating too much so he refrained himself a bit. But one night, when sleeping in the middle of the night, his stomach made a drum sound that awoke Shen Yanbei.
The sleepy young man groped his head against Gu Changfeng's belly with a lazy smile. "Wife, your belly's sound is so loud. Is it because your husband has not fed you enough?"
His tone was light and tender with a certain unspeakable meaning, so Gu Changfeng was so scared that he didn't dare to move. Finally, Shen Yanbei opened his eyes and kissed him distressedly on the cheek, then got up and went to the kitchen to cook him a bowl of noodles. From then on he dared not to eat not enough.
With delicious food in front of them, Shen Yanbei kept giving him food. Even though he was not too hungry, he just got used to his appetite. His injury recovered so quickly, it was all because of Shen Yanbei by treating him good food and drink during this time.
Gu Changfeng felt touching, also felt a little guilty. He gave Shen Yanbei a piece of meat from the belly of the fish. "My internal strength is now running smoothly. Just adjust my breath every day, the injury will quickly recover. Don't worry." So didn't need to take care of me so hard.
Shen Yanbei's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Gu Changfeng nodded. "I can do the work at home in the future, so you can study at ease."
Shen Yanbei understood his thoughts at once and said with a serious face, "Reading does not hinder doing housework. I do what I am good at and you do what you are good at. It is very good for us to divide the jobs and cooperate." In most of the secular world, it was the wife taking care of the husband. But his wife was a big man and he himself was also a big man, so no need to decide who must take care of whom.
Gu Changfeng said, "You are a scholar." How could a scholar be covered with soot? Even if the scholar was not full of books, he should have neat clothes with a faint scent that fills the sleeves, rather than rolled up his sleeves and sweated to cook for him.
"What's the matter with the scholar?" Shen Yanbei disapproved. "I like to cook for the people I like."
Gu Changfeng had often heard Shen Yanbei expressing his likes so bluntly, but every time he heard it, Gu Changfeng still couldn't help but flustered in his heart.
Shen Yanbei raised his eyes and stared at him, with a wide smile. "If not, how can your husband raise his wife to make him plump and fat?"
Gu Changfeng's face burned. Both of them were young men of hot blood, newly married, and also slept on the same bed. Of course, it was easy to wipe the gun. But due to Shen Yanbei's body still wasn't in good condition, Gu Changfeng didn't dare to let Shen Yanbei act recklessly. Occasionally he would touch him when Shen Yanbei was excited, but he never used his hands...
Seeing his wife was so frightened, Shen Yanbei quickly warned herself. Be veiled! Be restrained! But the new bed was ready, were they really not going to roll?
Shen Yanbei, who was eager in his heart, failed to get what he wanted. Because right now the village head, Shen Dezhong, brought three men to talk to him.
"Shen Yan, you asked me to find someone to help you to plant. What do you think about these three people?"
"Shen Xiucai, my name is Xu Dayong, a villager in Wujia Village." A middle-aged man led the talk with a smile. The man had a square face with veins that were very densely distributed and his skin was dark and rough due to exposure to the wind and sun. Due to years of hard work, his hands were full of thick calluses.
Behind him, there were two sturdy young men named Xu Zhi and Xu Da. These young men and the middle-aged man had similar facial features, both must be the sons of the middle-aged man.
The other party was a real farmer, Shen Yanbei only took a look and then looked back. "My family's lands have not been rummaged yet, so we must first weed and tilled the land first before sowing..."
"No problem."
Shen Yanbei thought for a while and added, "My family hasn't done farming for several years, so there are not so many tools at home. You have to bring your own tools."
"It's okay, we have the tools."
He wanted to discuss with the village chief clearly about the wage, so Shen Yanbei stopped talking and asked directly, "If there are no other questions, how about you going to the land tomorrow?"
"Alright."
Since both parties were okay with the condition, Shen Yanbei went to the room to pick a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to draft a contract in front of several people. After that asked the village chief to read it to Xu Dayong. The contract was easy to understand, with clear statements about who hired, who to farm the land, the amount of money, and so on.
Xu Dayong was overjoyed. This kind of work of helping people farming was usually an oral agreement. No one was as serious and cautious as Shen Yanbei to make a written agreement.
The black characters on the white papers were delivered to both parties. After the field was planted, there was no need to worry about the other party creating a mess about having bad work and deducting their wages!
"Uncle Old Xu and two little brothers will be there tomorrow." Shen Yanbei smiled politely and gave Xu Dayong a duplicate contract.
Xu Dayong was flattered and took it quickly. When the village chief talked to them that they were gonna do farming for Shen Xiucai's Family, he hesitated. He had heard about Shen Xiucai of Shenjia Village, an arrogant and conceited scholar who was not easy to get along with. But after the village head told him the wages, he decided to come and had a look first. If the other party was really rude, they would take another job. But at the moment this contact was created, Shen Xiucai was absolutely different from what the rumors said. Although he had no amiable and easy to approach appearance, his eyes were calm and spoke with reason and convincing evidence, also his action was strict and straight to the point, just like a real gentleman!
The rumors were really unbelievable!
After sending people out the door, Shen Yanbei came back and hugged Gu Changfeng. He sighed. "Wife, we are about to start spring plowing. We will not be free for this period of time. Because we are still idle now, let's go to the bed and lie down for a while!" After speaking, Gu Changfeng with stiff hands and feet was pushed into the room with new furniture.
Gu Changfeng, who was nervous in his heart, stunned as soon as he entered the door. In the spacious and tidy room, there were a few new items of furniture: a simple bed, couch, cabinet. Besides that, the red-brown lacquer on them made the atmosphere looked calm and festive...
Shen Yanbei chuckled and whispered in Gu Changfeng's ears. "I didn't have time to prepare a new house before. So this should be our new house. Well, there are still a lot of things missing, but when conditions are available in the future..."
The people here really paid attention to the ceremony. Even the poor families at least would have one or two tables when they get married. This was not only to inform everyone that they had been married but also to give the other half a face-this is the wife I am married to and the person who will live with me in the future!
He suddenly was transmigrated and had a wife, but the original owner didn't treat him as a human being, just married him but did nothing. Because the original owner abused his wife in this way, causing the villagers also did not take his wife seriously.
How could his wife such a sexy and delicious hunk be treated as a joke?
The smile on Shen Yanbei's face was getting dimmer but he said seriously, "I will entertain guests from all over the world, give you ten miles of dowries, and marry you again."
Gu Changfeng's eyes widened, only feeling sweet and astringent in his heart. He was a Shuānger, being able to marry Shen Yanbei might be his greatest luck in his life. After all, he was getting greedier. Even though he was satisfied with now status quo but still couldn't help but wanted more. He wants to be together with Shen Yanbei. Together with him in right and proper status. When others mentioned Gu Changfeng, they would say that whose and whose wife, not the ugly Shuānger that looked like a man. Among them, he was still also missing a right and legal marriage and proper process and steps of getting married...
His idea was quite ridiculous. After all, it was because he was afraid.
"Okay, Wife, don't be puzzled. Come and try whether this bed works!" Shen Yanbei pushed the person forward and leaped on with a smile.
Gu Changfeng, who was caught off guard, did not stiffen his body as before. Instead, he took the initiative to reach out and hug Shen Yanbei, then rolled over to press him under him.
"?" Shen Yanbei was a little dazed. As soon as he raised his head, he faced a pair of deep black eyes.
"Husband..."
The man's dumb whisper sounded in his ears. What caught his eye was that man's angular face with three-dimensional features carved with an ax, especially those deep black eyes stared at him deeply with a scorching gaze.
"Chang...Changfeng..." Shen Yanbei swallowed, feeling his heart beating uncontrollably.
I'm dying...I'm dying! What will he do to me?
Just when Shen Yanbei's heart screamed frantically, Gu Changfeng bowed his head to kiss his lips.
Shen Yanbei. "..."
"...I...I don't know how."
Gu Changfeng's ears were covered with red and said in a muffled voice with his eyes down. No one had taught him, so he didn't know how to please him. Actively kissing each other was the most reserved behavior he could do to express his feelings.
Shen Yanbei's heart softened. He smiled and bit his lip. "It's okay, I will teach you."
"Just do this kind of thing twice more..."
"Alright…"
"Open your mouth."
"..."
"So good..."
Secondary Name
Today's weather was fine, Uncle Xu and the other went to work early in the morning to weed and loosen the soil. Since they were all honest peasants, didn't need to be supervised. Shen Yanbei only took a look and went home after for a while.
Zhou Yu came to report on time. Gu Changfeng occasionally stared at Zhou Yu practicing basic skills while watched Shen Yanbei doing his work.
"What is this?"
"Picking up the seeds," Shen Yanbei said. He picked out the big corn seeds that spread on the ground and placed them in the dustpan on the side.
The family's eight acres of paddy fields would be planted with rice, which produced enough stock for the two big men. He also planned to grow corn, beans, sweet potatoes, and peanuts on the six acres of dry land, which were delicious crops that did not require much effort to manage. As for green vegetables, their yard was large enough to raise chickens and pigs and to grow vegetables. When the parents of the original owner were alive, there was a vegetable plot in the backyard. Two days ago, his wife helped to weed and loosen the soil. Meanwhile, he sprinkled some seeds and planted some fruits and vegetables.
After hearing that, Gu Changfeng knelt to help pick up the seeds.
Zhou Yu looked at the two who were quietly picking up seeds, felt that his cognition had been refreshed again. After coming to Shen Yanbei's home, he found that Shen Yanbei and the Shen Xiucai in his memory were completely different. He felt that this person had his own way of dealing with ordinary people and also the magnates. It was not the way that scholars usually did by acting in undue confidence of their own ability and looked down upon others, but it was about dealing with reason first. He was not so impressed at first, but who should he blame if his Shīfu was so clumsy and was always bullied by Shen Xiucai. But this was not a bad thing actually. Shen Xiucai might love bullying his Shīfu but also knew how to cherish him. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe that the gentle and handsome Shen Xiucai would have fallen in love with such a unique Shuānger, his Shīfu. Outside the village, he had never seen a pair of husband and wife who acted like them, sweet and playful but sticky and greasy.
However, if this was the temperament and interest between the two, he could quite understand...
"Enough." Shen poured the corn seeds inside into a jar with water.
"Soak them in the water?" Gu Changfeng was curious. He had no experience in farming, so he just directly buried the seeds in the soil.
"No, this is the urine of a boy." Shen Yanbei smiled slightly.
Hearing this, Zhou Yu, who was struggling to do horse stance, trembled and almost knelt down.
"Boy urine?" Gu Changfeng frowned. "What's the use?"
"The seeds are soaked before sowing to let the seeds absorbing enough water to speed up the germination rate, increase the number of seeds germinating, and ensure that the seeds germinate quickly and neatly. You can call it accelerating germination," Shen Yanbei explained. "While soaking them in the urine, It can make the seedlings of corn seeds stronger to increase the output."
The land here was quite fertile, but the volume of production per mu was not that high. He thought about it, perhaps the problem was in the fertilizer and also in the seed quality. Without modern fertilizer applied during the growing period of crops, he could only use traditional methods to increase the competitiveness of the plants.
And also he didn't plan to use ordinary methods to grow corn.
Zhou Yu's eyes widened when he heard this. Wasn't Shen Xiucai a scholar? Why was he so proficient in farming all of a sudden?
Gu Changfeng didn't ask more, he only had to watch how Shen Yanbei did it.
The next day, the sights and sounds of spring were nice and warm. The fields were full of busy figures of villagers plowing in spring, the sowing and planting of seedlings were running smoothly.
In the dry land of the Shen's Family, Xu Dayong held a hoe with full of doubts on his face.
"The wide of the furrow for this kind of corn, doesn't need to be so wide right?"
"It's true that the furrow for the corn does not need to be so wide, but I plan to grow soybeans." Shen Yanbei showed to Xu Dayong a planting pattern. "Three rows of soybeans are planted between three rows of corn. The distance between corn is about two feet*, between corn and soybean was one foot, and between soybeans..."
*1 foot = 33.33 cm.
He never heard about this kind of method, Xu Dayong was doubtful and worried whether it would work. But the owner, Shen Yanbei, asked him to do so.
When the villagers heard that Shen Yanbei wanted to grow corn like this, they felt that Shen Yanbei turned to be stupid after not studying for a long time, acted recklessly. The village head Shen Dezhong came to him to talk about it.
"Shen Yan, if this kind of method will be a success?"
If Shen Yanbei did not look at people with this gaze as before, Shen Dezhong also suspected that Shen Yanbei trying to mess things up. But Shen Yanbei had been well behaved lately. He thought this young man was not prompted by a sudden impulse.
Shen Yanbei smiled. He poured a cup of wolfberry and red jujube tea for the village head that could nourish blood and strengthen the spleen and stomach.
Shen Dezhong took a look and thought that the tea of this Xiucai's Family was different. When you smelled it, there was a faint scent. When you took a sip, it was sweet!
"I won't hide it from you Uncle Zhong. I read this planting method from a miscellaneous book*." Shen Yanbei cleverly gave a reason with a panic expression and mentioned the author's name as an unknown scholar. "This writer travels north and south and records many anecdotes and fantastic stories. I happened to look through it, so I wanted to try it."
*zá shū: the imperial examination era, refers to books that are not directly related to the imperial examination.
"According to the book, this kind of planting method is more simple compared with the planting method that we're used to doing. For corn, it may not increase the quantity of production. But for the soybean, the output of the production can increase up to a hundred jin."
Shen Dezhong was a little startled. The farmers' hopes for a year were in the fields. Who didn't wish for their production to increase? Soybeans were indeed not expensive, But if you could get a hundred jin in vain, it was also money! Also, we could make bean curd to be tofu from these soybeans!
Shen Yanbei took a sip of tea and waited for the other party to calm down.
"Ahem, Shen Yan, don't you think it was still too risky?" Shen Dezhong asked cautiously. His heart might beat fast, but it was just a heartbeat. Before Shen Yanbei's land was harvested, he didn't dare to mess around.
Smiling disapprovingly, Shen Yanbei put the teacup down. "Just two mu of land. If we don't have a big crop, we won't plant them in the second half of the year."
Shen Dezhong was stunned, sighed inwardly for it in vain: he ate more salt than the other person ate rice, but couldn't compare to such a young man who always looked at the bright side of things*.
*xiǎng de kāi: does not always take unsatisfactory things into the heart.
"Whether the method does work or not, I'll know after I try it," Shen Yanbei said with a serious face. "If it works, let the villagers try this method."
The villagers took care of the original owner in the past. Otherwise, the original owner who led an easy life with everything provided would have been starving to death in his own home.
Now because he had taken up the body of the original owner, so in the future, teaching the villagers some ways to increase production would be the rewards for the villagers for taking care of the original owner.
Shen Dezhong was so excited. "If this is the case, then I will thank you on behalf of the villagers."
Shen Yanbei hurriedly said, "Uncle Zhong doesn't need to say that, it's as easy as lifting a finger."
The generation of his grandparents were farmers with their backs to the sky and feet on the loess land. Before his family started a business in the catering industry, his family was also farming. He deeply understood the experience of the hardship of farming. If he could help the villagers here, he was very willing to help.
"Good!" Shen Dezhong was relieved, but the things he had on his mind made his bright face faded, there was a sadness on his old face. He looked at Shen Yanbei and pondered. He tried to persuade. "Shen Yan, after you finish spring plowing, you should study hard. Just let your husband take care of these trivial matters in the field!"
"Whether having a successful career or passing an imperial examination and getting official rank, no one in the younger generation in our village has reached this achievement..."
There were several large and small villages in their area. Every year at the autumn harvest, the villages would unite to hold social dramas. This was a big event in the village. Unfortunately, their Shenjia Village had declined over the years, and the right to host social drama had not fallen to their village for a long time. Last year, the social drama was held in Lijia Village. Lijia Village, this piece of trash, suddenly turned out to be so lucky and they were now having a Master Juren. So this year the right to host social drama must fall into the hands of Lijia Village. Thinking of the good deeds done by the bastards in Lijia Village, Shen Dezhong was so furious.
Poor and be bullied! Who could he blame if the people of their Shenjia Village powerless?
But he was unable to stomach an insult!
"Shen Yan, everyone is counting on you!"
In the face of Shen Dezhong's eager gaze, Shen Yanbei kept to smile on his face, but felt tired and had no strength to love anymore.
He was Shen Yanbei, but everyone called him Shen Yan one by one. He still couldn't get used to it. If his wife called him like that at certain moments...
Just thought about it already making him depressed.
Seeing that Shen Yanbei remained unmoved, Shen Dezhong said with great heart, "Shen Yan, you are twenty this year. Although you haven't done the crown ceremony, you have had a family after all. As the head of the family, you have to bring honor to the family name! Your grandfather and great grandfather are amazing people, you..."
Shen Yanbei was stunned. He suddenly clapped his hands and laughed. "Uncle Zhong, you are right!"
The ancient man reached the crown at the age of 20. It meant that they truly regarded as an adult after the crown ceremony. For the convenience of addressing, he would take one alias to manifest the virtue and dignity. This was the reason why someone had the secondary personal name.
Even though farmers did not have this habit, he was a scholar after all! So It was normal for a scholar to have a secondary personal name!
"I understand what you said," Shen Yanbei said sincerely. "After I finish the spring plowing, I would like to ask Uncle Zhong to manage a crown ceremony for me."
As the village head, Shen Dezhong's status had enough weight to crown him.
After the crown ceremony, he could use his name back!
Planting seedlings
Seedlings only could be planted in Shen's Family's paddy field after two days of soaking. Early that morning, Shen Yanbei and others went to the fields to plant seedlings. The seedlings were bought by the village head's help, who happened to be bought from the family of Third Brother Shen.
When Shen Yanbei arrived in the rice field, Wu sān-gē was already there waiting for him.
"Wu sān-gē, so early? Have you had breakfast?"
"I have!" Wu sān-gē smiled kindly. His own seedlings had already been planted. So after hearing that Shen Yanbei's Family was gonna planting seedlings today, he came over to take a look.
The eight acres of paddy fields in the Shen's Family were connected, you even couldn't see the edge at a glance. Perhaps, they couldn't finish seedling all the fields even after one day of busywork.
Uncle Xu and others were all experienced hands. After taking the seedlings, they started to work.
Gu Changfeng took off his shoes and rolled up his trousers, got ready to come into the rice field.
Actually, Shen Yanbei didn't want him to do this job. Kept bending over while repeating the same action for a long time, his arms and waist might be sore. But when Gu Changfeng looked at him with those quiet black eyes, he became softhearted.
His wife said: Husband, you've told me, I do what I am good at, and you do what you are good at, the division of work between us is very good. Since you want to increase food production, I will be responsible for farming.
What else could he say then?
Gu Changfeng actually had never planted seedlings, but it was not difficult to do it. After asking Uncle Xu for advice, his work was quite good.
"Shen Yan, has your husband done farming before? His planting seedlings work is really amazing!" Wu sān-gē said that while looked at Gu Changfeng, who had already finished to planted seedlings in one line and was about to start another line, with shock in his eyes.
Shen Yanbei smiled without saying a word, feeling very depressed. How could his wife's work be bad? He might take advantage of his martial arts skills to do plant seedlings! He bet that all over the world, only his family would use martial arts skills to plant seedlings!
With the four worked together, one mu of land was quickly be filled with seedlings. Shen Yanbei carefully lifted the wooden barrel that was full of water.
"Shen Yan, what are you doing?" Watching Shen Yanbei poured water from the wooden barrel into the rice field, Wu sān-gē walked towards him curiously. When he got closer, he discovered that the barrel was not only filled with water but also some fish seeds!
Wu sān-gē changed his face in an instant and hurriedly stopped him. "Shen Yan, don't mess around! These fishes will ruin the rice fields." Farmers relied on the rice field to eat. If these fishes ate seedlings and destroyed the soil, didn't expect to have a harvest this year!
"It's okay." Shen Yanbei patiently explained to him the symbiosis between fishes and rice fields.
"This fish is not as big as a finger, they will not hinder the growth of seedlings. On the contrary, since the fish swimming in the water, it will increase the water activity and nutrients..."
Seeing that Wu sān-gē was still at a loss, Shen Yanbei tried his best to use straightforward words to explain. "These fish seeds are small, only draft the things in the water and won't eat the seedlings. The manure produced by the fish seeds can also fertilize the seedlings. When these fish seeds grow up, the roots of the seedlings have grown stable..."
Wu sān-gē thought about it carefully, felt that the reason quite made sense.
But…
"If the rice seedlings have turned into paddy, wouldn't the fishes eat the paddy instead?" Wu Wu sān-gē said distressedly.
"This is the place we should concern to. We should pay attention to how many fish seeds that we'll put in the field. If it was too much, it might eat the paddy, which is not worth the loss. On the contrary, If less, it will not achieve the goal of symbiosis..."
To fortify the credibility, Shen Yanbei had to show him the book. "This is what I saw from the miscellaneous book. This is how the villages in other places grow the paddy. This method is mutually beneficial for fish and paddy, it increases the quantity of the production and the paddy itself also became fatter."
Was that really true? Wu sān-gē was still a bit uncertain.
Was this really unacceptable? At the exact time, he will also put ducks in the farm field! Shen Yanbei smiled and looked up at the sky. Fortunately, the sun today was not poisonous. Otherwise, his wife will be sunburned. He would be depressed if it really happened.
Wu sān-gē thought for a moment, said solemnly to Shen Yanbei, "Shen Yan, if this method really works, teach me the next time you plant seedlings. I will give the best seedlings for you!" All farmers were wishing for a good harvest. If it really could increase grain production, who could refuse this benefit?
Shen Yanbei responded, "No problem. When we harvest the rice, Wu sān-gē can come and take a look. Actually, I've told the village chief to let everyone who wants to learn come together. I will teach you all how to do it."
"Thank you so much!" Wu sān-gē was full of excitement.
Shen Yanbei smiled slightly and saw that the third acre of paddy field had been filled with the seedling. He then beckoned to Gu Changfeng, "Wife, come here. Let's go home and cook."
Gu Changfeng did not insist. They had promised to take care of their meal, so he had to go back with Shen Yanbei. Even if he himself didn't cook the meal, people outside would not know that Shen Yanbei cooked it.
"Here, take a drink." Gu Changfeng's nose was covered with fine beads of sweat that dripped from his forehead. Shen Yanbei didn't care if anyone was looking, he pulled his sleeve to wipe Gu Changfeng's sweat.
Gu Changfeng's face was red, didn't know if it because of the sunburn or shyness, but he didn't stop Shen Yanbei.
Wu sān-gē was surprised when he saw them. Shen Yan's temperament really had changed drastically, even his preferences also had changed! Now he didn't interest in a pretty and charming woman, on the contrary, he loved his husband, who had a vigorous face and as strong as a man. Incredible!
After Gu Changfeng put on his socks and shoes, Shen Yanbei led the person to the house.
"Tired?"
Gu Changfeng shook his head. Doing this work was like warming up, he even didn't use his internal strength.
"Wifey, you can teach me some martial arts skills, the kind used to strengthen the body."
The physical quality of this body was really too bad, even didn't reach half of his wife's. He had been thinking about exercising well before, but the exercise method he knew would be too weird to others. Fortunately, his wife was a master. It would be better if he asked Gu Changfeng to teach him directly instead of doing it in his own way.
Gu Changfeng hesitated. "You have to do it persistently to make the exercise effective. It will be tiring you."
"It's okay, I'm a big man. I must be better than that kid, right?"
Zhou Yu came to their house every day to report. Even if his wife was not there, he obediently exercised and waited for his wife to come back to check the lesson. He really admired that kid's perseverance.
Gu Changfeng pondered for a while and said, "I will teach you a set of boxing techniques."
"Okay!" Shen Yanbei was a little excited and asked with interest, "Wife, what skills do you use? Do you have any weapons you are used to?"
Gu Changfeng thought hard, his eyes darkened. "I don't remember..."
Shen Yanbei felt a pity in his heart. His wife must be very handsome with a sword and a spear! Seeing Gu Changfeng frowned, he hurriedly comforted. "It doesn't matter if you don't remember. These days are peaceful, you don't need to wield the sword. Let's just do farming and a small business!"
Gu Changfeng responded softly "um".
When the two returned home, Zhou Yu was feeding the rabbit. There was a fat man sat in the yard in bored and watched Zhou You feeding the rabbit.
"Shen Yan!" Seeing them come back, Fatty's eyes lit up. He quickly stood up.
"Laifu-gē, you must be waiting a long time." Shen Yanbei smiled apologetically.
"It's okay, I just arrived, haha..." Shen Laifu looked a little anxious. "Then we can start now?"
Gu Changfeng looked puzzled. Shen Yanbei smiled lightly and explained to him, "He is the chef I want to invite, so he naturally has to understand what he will cook."
Gu Changfeng was stunned and suddenly understood. "He will make those meals?"
"What do you think?" Shen Yanbei teased. "I only cook for my wife. Others don't get this treatment."
Gu Changfeng's eyes gleamed. His heart warmed, felt like he soaked in warm water.
"Wife, I..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt warm on the side of his face. As soon as that temperature touched him, he even had no time to react. When Gu Changfeng took Zhou Yu out of the house, he could only see his wife's red ear.
Shen Laifu. "..." He didn't see anything!
Shen Yanbei touched his cheek, happy and sad in his heart. The happy thing was that his wife becoming more and more active, but the sad thing was that his spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak*.
*xīnyǒuyúérlìbùzú: unable to do what one wants very much to do.
What to do?
How about... went to see the doctor again and ask?
Uncle Xu and others, who were still busy in the field, finished planting the seedlings. They went to the edge of the field to drink water and rest.
"Father, What kind of food will Shen Xiucai's Family serve today?" The younger son Xu Da wiped his sweat and asked expectantly.
Xu Dayong glared at him and cursed angrily. "You child, did you have insufficient food or drink in the past? I take you here to do a seasonal job, yet you are concerned about what the Master house's meals look like!"
"Indeed, I'm not short of food and drink, but you have to see what kind of dishes mother cooks!" Xu Da was aggrieved. "Her fried dishes felt like boiled water, tasteless. When she cooks the whole fish, it's too fishy. Even for the stewed meat, we only can drink a sip of soup..."
"Your mother worked so hard to cook for you, yet you still picky. Geez!" Xu Dayong kicked his younger son.
Xu Da jumped up and said, "The meal that the Shen Xiucai's family made is so delicious! Even the common stir-fried vegetables felt very fresh. It increases my appetite!"
The eldest son, Xu Zhi, who always was silent all this time, also admitted it. "The fish is indeed delicious."
Xu Dayong. "..."
Originally, after hearing Shen Yanbei was responsible for the meal, he thought that it was just some pickles and steamed buns. But unexpectedly, Shen Yanbei really prepared the meal solemnly: mixed grain rice, a stir-fried vegetable dish, meat, and a soup.
Two dishes and one soup might not be that expensive. But the color and taste really made people eating the tongue! On the first day, his two sons almost picked up all the food on the plates! Caused him to lose his old face!
"Ugh, I'm so hungry. When will Shen Xiucai deliver the meals?" Xu Da muttered.
"All you do just thinking about eating. Just finish the work quickly!" Xu Dayong blushed and pushed his two sons back to the farm field.
These two brats! Because blabbing hungry all the time, he became hungry too!