I want to help him
"Why are you here?"
As soon as Shen Yanbei entered the door, he saw a young man with a fleshy face squatting in his yard. The young man was feeding his rabbit with a leaf of vegetables.
Smiling at Shen Yanbei, Su Qingze said without any guilty conscience. "I just happened to meet Gu Dàgē when my family and I went out for a walk. It must be because we are destined to meet each other! Gu Dàgē even invited me to drink a glass of water."
Ming'an smiled stiffly on the side. Young Master! It was obvious that you, without shame, followed someone else's Fu Lang to their home and stuck to him like glue.
Shen Yanbei didn't break it and went straight into the house.
Gu Changfeng was sitting in the kitchen choosing vegetables. Shen Yanbei washed his hands and took a small chair to sit next to him.
"How can they be here?" He understood so well that his wife would not let a stranger coming to their house casually, even if the other party used both hard and soft tactics.
Gu Changfeng's dark eyes were full of seriousness. "I actually want to help him." Although it might be impossible to have a body like him, that young boy was different.
When he met Su Qingze on the way home, that boy was flushed and sweaty but he insisted on walking forward. His little servant was so anxious that he almost cried and repeatedly advised him to take a rest and went back home. But the young man said that if he even couldn't stand these few steps, what else could he talk about to develop a strong physique?
He watched from a distance. The boy was exhausted to the point that he couldn't lift his feet, but the boy showed no resentment. His clear eyes were filled with determination.
His wife was not a passionate and active person, even the acceptance of Zhou Yu as a disciple was Shen Yanbei's initiative. It must be that his wife could say such things because of empathy, but Shen Yanbei felt that it wasn't a good idea.
"Are you trying to help him because he's suffering since people look down on his figure? But if you really like someone, you don't care whether he is tall, short, or thin."
For example, he originally indeed was attracted to his wife because of his figures. Besides that, so many people had a figure that could make people's blood boil. But, there was only one who could make someone's soul be so attracted. Even if his wife was not macho and manly, it didn't mean that he would say he didn't like his wife and be interested in others.
"He is not me." Gu Changfeng's eyes were serious. He might be fortunate enough to meet Shen Yanbei, but Su Qingze might not have such luck.
Understanding the hidden meaning in his eyes, Shen Yanbei threw the vegetables into the basket and turned to stare at him. "Of course he is not you. But even if he was you, I won't like him."
"I only like you." Meeting Gu Changfeng was the greatest luck in his life!
His face was slightly hot, Gu Changfeng lowered his eyes and made a soft "um" sound.
Shen Yanbei couldn't help smiling and said, "I don't mind if you want to help him. But if it's for losing weight, I can simply teach him how!" They didn't know the other party's background, and he didn't want to let others know that his wife had martial arts skills. As for how to lose weight, he had seen a lot in the gym, so there would be always a set of methods suitable for someone to practice.
In the yard, Ming'an was crying. "Young Master, let's go home!" He regretted it! He shouldn’t suggest him to follow Guye to go to the countryside when he saw his young master unhappy! If they didn't go, they wouldn't meet this Shuānger. If they didn't meet this Shuānger, the young master wouldn't be so obsessed by asking others to teach him how to exercise!
If Young Master really wanted to have a figure like that...
Ming’an imagined Su Qingze who finally had a strong body with bulge muscles, hips as strong as a bear's, and a back as supple as a tiger's, but had exquisite eyes and brows. He couldn't hold sweating hard.
My goodness, Laoye and Furen would be angry to death at him!
"Why such a hurry?" Su Qingze touched the rabbit, his face flushed with excitement.
He just wanted to go out to relax, who knew that he would meet Gu Dàgē! It was very coincidental that Gu Dàgē's husband was also not with him! So how could he let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Although Gu Dàgē didn't talk much, he was generally very friendly. He said that he was exhausted so he wanted to find a place to take a rest. When he asked Gu Dàgē if he could go to his house to drink a glass of water, Gu Dàgē agreed!
He turned his head to look at the blue brick house, Su Qingze almost wanted to scream. With such close contact, he could see what Gu Dàgē usually did then he could finally develop such a strong physique!
Shen Yanbei brought the tea and cakes to the table under the tree. He beckoned Su Qingze to come and sit. At first, Su Qingze still refrained himself, but the tea was sweet and the pastries were crisp and delicious, so he couldn't stop eating.
"Is it delicious?" Shen Yanbei asked with a smile.
Su Qingze nodded hard. Delicious! Why was there such a delicious dim sum in this village?
"Then you eat more. In the future, you only can watch it.."
"Uhuk... Uhuk...What... What do you mean?" Su Qingze quickly swallowed his snack.
"You want to be like my Fu Lang, right?" Shen Yanbei chuckled. "You have to control your mouth first to make yourself thin."
Su Qingze was taken aback. He first nodded and then shook his head. "I want to. But it doesn't mean I can't eat." You might lose weight without eating, but you would get hungry and as a result, get sick.
Ming'an hurriedly interjected, "Yes, yes! You can't be hungry! This may be too dangerous. Young Master, you should not try!"
Su Qingze ignored him but stared at Shen Yanbei.
"What I said is that you aren't allowed to eat whatever you want." Shen Yanbei said sternly. "Just trust me and do what I say. If you don't believe me, please go home. And please don't show up in front of my Fu Lang again in the future."
"Haha..." Ming'an laughed dryly. "We have to not make fun of our own body. Young Master, let's..."
Su Qingze's eyes flashed frantically. "Will I really become like him?"
"Yes." Shen Yanbei frowned. "But I'm afraid you won't be able to hold on." His wife had beautiful muscles, mostly because of his martial arts training since he was young. This young boy who had fine skin and tender meat, at first glance, you could know that he never encountered bitterness. He was afraid, this young man would be faint after 3 minutes standing under a scorching sun.
"I can!" Su Qingze's eyes burst with dazzling light, eagerly looking at Shen Yanbei. "As long as I have food to eat, no matter how hard and tired, I can stand it!" Having such a perfect body was his big dream since he was a child!
Ming'an became anxious when he heard this. "Young Master, you should not mess around!" Then he spoke to Shen Yanbei, "This Gōngzǐ, my young master is just on a whim. Thank you for your kindness!"
Shen Yanbei smiled and said, "Don't thank me too much, I just moved my lips." The implication was that I only helped, but it was you who worked hard. Whether you succeed or not halfway had nothing to do with me.
"Haha..." Ming'an said with a smile, "Master, Guye is probably waiting for us. Let's go back!"
"Shut up!" Su Qingze glared at him. Ming'an might not understand this, but he did.
"Please tell me what to do?"
The young man looked sincere, his eyes were serious. Ming'an secretly said it was bad. His young master had a wide heart and fat body*. He always looked cheerful, but once he became stubborn, anyone couldn't persuade him...
*xīn kuān tǐ pán: originally, people have an open mind and a peaceful appearance. Later used to refer to a happy mood and nothing to worry about, so that people also get fat.
No! Actually there was someone who could persuade him! But his young master's letter had been sent...
Ming'an couldn't help being depressed.
"Don't decide in such a hurry. You better go back first and think about it." Shen Yanbei said to Su Qingze when he sent people out.
The young man nodded, pulling Ming'an in high spirit.
Shen Yanbei turned around to look at the vegetables that were planted in the yard. After more than half a month, the seedlings sprouted and grew into small vegetables gratifyingly. It was late spring, and the farmer's work in the fields was all finished. He had to start preparing for his crown ceremony.
Shen Yanbei had a headache. The village chief said, as the only Xiucai in the village, he was the face of Shenjia Village. So his ceremonial ceremony couldn't be so simple. But no one in the village had done it before, even the village chief himself didn't know how to do it. Li Yi, a villager of Lijia Village, had done it before. But based on the bad relationship between the two villages, the other side would verbally insult him. So it even would be impossible for him to ask the people of Lijia Village.
Shen Yanbei sighed. The original owner had been admitted as a Tongsheng* at a young age, so he considered himself very high. He didn't want to understand his other classmates' feelings who had tried repeatedly. After being admitted as a Xiucai, he thought that he was more superior to others. No one could stand this bad temper, so much so that he didn't have any close friends after several years of studying. In the past two years when the original owner was seriously ill, no one had come to visit him. Now he had no face to find someone else to ask. And the teacher of the original owner also passed away two years earlier...
*Tong Sheng: In the imperial examination system of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, all scholars who practiced examinations, regardless of their age, were called Tong Sheng or Confucian Tong before they were qualified as students (xiucai).
In the kitchen, Gu Changfeng looked up and saw Shen Yanbei from the window. The young man stood by the vegetable field, frowning slightly. His eyes looked worried.
He also frowned lightly. Gu Changfeng walked out of the kitchen.
He heard footsteps behind him, Shen Yanbei met a pair of concerned eyes when he turned his head.
"You will be able to eat these vegetables in another half month." Shen Yanbei's worried expression was reduced, and he gave a bright smile. He planted many kinds of fruits and vegetables, so when it was summer, his yard became lively. The loofah beans were climbing on the shelf, the tomatoes were covered with bright red color, the vegetables were green, the corns were golden...
They were all-natural and pollution-free vegetables. You could pick what you want to eat!
Gu Changfeng didn't speak, he just looked at Shen Yanbei firmly. Shen Yanbei held his hand and whispered. "I want to hold the crown ceremony on my birthday, but I don't know how to do it. I want to find someone to solve the problem, but I don't know who." Both of them were big men, so there was no need to hide it. Since his wife had seen it, he would be more worried and thought more about it if he didn't tell him.
"Ask Su Qingze." Gu Changfeng looked into his eyes when he spoke.
Shen Yanbei was taken aback for a moment, then hugged him and kissed him hard. "Thank you, wife!" Those closely involved cannot see as clearly as those outsides! There is a Gōngzǐ of a wealthy and influential family in front of him, even if Su Qingze didn't know, someone in their family would clearly know!
Seeing him smiling, Gu Changfeng also softened the edges of the corners of his mouth.
The next day, a carriage with cyan curtains slowly drove into Shenjia Village. The villagers were surprised when they stared at the carriage. Just when everyone thought that there would be a graceful young woman getting off the carriage, a fleshy young man jumped out of the carriage. There was also a young servant and a middle-aged man who looked like a steward of a wealthy and influential family.
After visiting the village chief's house, the three of them walked towards Shen Yanbei's house. On the way, Ming'an was still concerned, but Su Qingze was excited.
Shen Yanbei didn't expect Su Qingze to move so fast. He went back to convince the family that day and packed his luggage the next day. He didn't even bring the maid!
The middle-aged man smiled and joined his hands in salute at Shen Yanbei: "Now our young master is under Shen Gōngzǐ's care."
"You are serious." Shen Yanbei returned the courtesy.
The middle-aged man nodded secretly in his heart and handed a stack of books. "I heard that Gōngzǐ likes to read. This is the book our Master has read in the past. Please accept it."
Shen Yanbei was flattered and hurriedly accepted. "I am grateful for the book donation, please thank your Master for me!" What was the other party's background that he acted so generously and actually gave him a book?
Seeing the two of them being polite, Su Qingze said, "Uncle Li, you can go back! I will take good care of myself and won't let my sister and my brother-in-law worry."
However, Shen Yanbei invited people to take a seat. "Those who come are guests, don't leave without a cup of tea."
The middle-aged man didn't hesitate, and said with a smile, "Sorry for disturbing you."
When Shen Yanbei went to prepare tea, he calmly looked at everything around him. He found that although the decorations in Shen Yanbei's home were simple, it was neatly organized. So he felt a little more fond of Shen Yanbei.
Shen Yanbei poured tea and asked the other side straight to the point about the matter.
Su Qingze took a sip of tea, only to feel that his mouth was full of fragrance. "Why is it so troublesome, I'll ask my brother-in-law to send you someone."
Shen Yanbei shook his head. "This is not appropriate."
The middle-aged man smiled and did not speak, but he explained the crown ceremony process to Shen Yanbei in more detail.
Shen Yanbei's heart fell to the ground. After sending people away, he went to discuss with Shen Dezhong about the guest list. Shen Dezhong frowned and sighed as he looked at him.
"What's wrong, Uncle Zhong?"
"Juren in Lijia Village will build a school in Lijia Village, and let nearby villages raise funds for it."
