Chapter 128: Medical Technology Is Advanced Now

Chen Shu gave himself a day off.

Taking a day off is truly so much fun.

First, I took Brother Meng's good brushes, good ink, good paper, and good inkstone to ruin them for a bit; what kind of calligraphy is that which Brother Meng writes? It's too rigid. This kind of calligraphy is meaningless; I must let Brother Meng witness what authentic "dog-scratch" style is.

Then, I tasted Jiang Lai's supplement, mixed it into a bowl of paste, and—ptui—it tasted truly awful.

I found Qingqing and teased her a bit.

I found Xiaoxiao and teased her a bit.

I tricked Huang Batian from downstairs into dancing manually.

Then I scrolled through short videos for a while...

And it was already the afternoon.

Chen Shu went out to buy groceries and made a meal of Yuer Chicken for Brother Meng and Brother Jiang. He boiled a big pot and stir-fried two common home-style dishes. Brother Meng was very sensible and brought out the yellow wine he had treasured for decades, produced by the Royal Wine Cellar, to warm it up. Chen Shu and he each poured a cup.

"So fragrant!"

Meng Chunqiu first tasted a piece of chicken, the familiar "Yuanzhou" flavor: heavy oil, heavy seasoning, and heavy spice.

Chen Shu reminded him, "The taro is what's actually delicious."

"Is that so?"

Meng Chunqiu picked up a piece of taro.

The small, small taro were round and cute. When Chen Shu made them for Qingqing last time, he had run to two vegetable markets just to buy this kind of small taro. Now they had been stewed until they were soft and mushy. Meng Chunqiu didn't know this the first time he ate them; he reached out with his chopsticks, but surprisingly, he couldn't pick one up.

A small taro was pinched into two halves by him.

Meng Chunqiu felt a bit embarrassed. The Imperial Family dining etiquette had some taboos regarding this; if you broke a piece of food, you had to pick up all the broken pieces.

Chen Shu didn't mind and just reminded him to be a bit gentler.

Meng Chunqiu nodded, then saw Jiang Lai also reach his chopsticks toward a taro. A Martial Artist's precise application of force allowed him to pick it up into his bowl very easily; when it reached the bowl, the taro was even still round, not deformed in the slightest.

"Emmm..."

Meng Chunqiu was cautious and tried again.

The first attempt was successful, and he moved the previously broken half-taro into his bowl, but the second attempt failed again, and a half turned into two quarters.

Meng Chunqiu lifted his eyes to glance at Brother Chen and Brother Jiang.

Brother Jiang was burying his head in his rice, devoid of emotion.

Brother Chen was smiling and staring at him, teasing, "The taro is so small, yet every day I take half of it, and it will never be exhausted for ten thousand generations."

"Brother Chen has such literary talent..."

Meng Chunqiu continued to try hard.

Fortunately, he didn't make a fool of himself again and preserved the Imperial Family's face.

Stuffing a mouthful of taro into his mouth, Meng Chunqiu's eyes narrowed slightly; it was another novel flavor he couldn't eat in Yujing or the palace.

Brother Chen loved using many spices when cooking, and he was also skilled at using them. This dish was the same; one mouthful contained very complex flavors. The taro, stewed until very soft and mushy, had long since absorbed the flavor. After being crushed, it was coated in the oily broth, and sending it into his mouth provided a simple and brutal stimulation to the taste buds.

It made one unable to resist shoveling down rice in large mouthfuls.

Meng Chunqiu was currently quite addicted to this kind of stimulation.

"Brother Chen!"

Meng Chunqiu was very curious: "How did you Yuanzhou people think of putting taro and chicken together? And why not use taro that has already grown big? How did you know this kind of small taro tastes better than big taro?"

"This is culture."

"Oh..." Meng Chunqiu suddenly realized, then thought for a moment, "I heard that during the Xia Dynasty, this kind of heavy-flavored diet was also very popular in the palace."

"Maybe Shengzu and I are fellow townsmen."

"Eh~~"

Meng Chunqiu dragged out a long tail note to correct Chen Shu's mistake: "The Holy Emperor's hometown was in the west of the Central Continent, outside the current territory. For the continuation of civilization, he moved the country to our current location..."

As he spoke, he felt something was wrong. Brother Chen was the son of a famous historian and had even participated in the interpretation and research of the Yuanzhou Fangti artifacts.

He was showing off before an expert...

Meng Chunqiu remained calm, acted as if he had said nothing, and continued to lower his head to eat the Yuer Chicken.

The soft, mushy taro he had just put in his bowl merged with the rice, and the thick, rich broth also seeped into the rice. Based on Meng Chunqiu's dining experience, he couldn't understand what kind of combination this was, but it was just so good with rice.

Poor him, Meng Chunqiu had been called "Meng One-Bowl" since he was small, yet he never expected to break his rule repeatedly at Brother Chen's hands.

"Let us toast to the Yuer Chicken."

"Hehe..."

Chen Shu raised his yellow wine, giving him some face.

Jiang Lai also hurriedly picked up his protein drink.

With a *ding*, the warm yellow wine entered his stomach; it was also a very complex flavor, impossible to describe clearly. It was like Chinese medicine, like Pu'er tea; the texture was smooth and rich, and a careful taste could detect all sorts of messy flavors blended together.

After finishing this meal, Chen Shu would never drink it again.

"This cup is for Brother Chen."

"Sensible."

"Mm!"

"This cup is for that line of poetry." Meng Chunqiu raised his cup again. There was a flush of red on his face, which was surprisingly exceptionally bright and moving, and then he said, "If fallen red is not a heartless thing, it turns into spring mud to protect the flowers; if this poem were placed in ancient times, it would surely become a classic verse for the ages."

"Come."

Chen Shu drank the last little bit of yellow wine in his cup in one gulp, then stopped drinking; alcohol was ultimately not a good thing.

Meng Chunqiu put down his cup and began to shovel rice fiercely, having already discarded the elegance of the Imperial Family.

In any case, this Dayi Imperial Family was not elegant either.

"Brother Chen, Brother Jiang," Meng Chunqiu said while eating, "The Martial Body Meet officially starts tomorrow, and the school is giving us a five-day break. Do you want to form a team and go watch?"

"Not going, I want to ask my girlfriend whom I haven't started dating yet to go see it."

"We Martial Academy students have to go be referees."

"……"

Meng Chunqiu felt extremely uncomfortable.

He had two roommates, yet it felt like he didn't.

The next day.

The whole school began its holiday, with the exception of the Martial Academy.

What was currently underway was the Martial Body Meet for the Ordinary Group, with the first three days being regular competitions and the last two days being Arena Competitions.

Schools like Yujing Academy and Ling'an were among the few ordinary academies that also held Arena Competitions, likely to cultivate a martial spirit; otherwise, if everyone were as effeminate as Brother Meng, just like in the previous dynasty, it would truly be unacceptable.

Dayi still placed great importance on masculine beauty and the beauty of strength.

The Ancient Cultivation Academy was very leisurely; during these five days, they neither had to participate in competitions nor take part in work like the Martial Academy, so they could play freely.

Ning Qing brought her here to Yujing Academy.

A semester had passed, and having taken many walks here, Chen Shu no longer needed to go to the school gate to pick her up; they met directly at the entrance of the Sports Field.

When Chen Shu walked near the Sports Field, he happened to see Qingqing and the little girl walking over from the other side; one was tall and cold, the other green and cute, both with a long or short braided pigtail hanging behind their heads.

Chen Shu's gaze rested on Qingqing.

The spring sunshine was bright, and she seemed even brighter than this spring light; no matter how many pedestrians were around, she remained the most eye-catching one. Many male students couldn't help but secretly cast glances at her.

Until the little girl began waving to greet him:

"Brother-in-law!"

Chen Shu's gaze softened, and as they walked closer, he smiled and said, "Have you eaten?"

"Ate."

"What did you eat?"

"Squid and potatoes."

"Aren't you supposed to supplement protein and grow taller?"

"That's right." The little girl's expression was serious as she patiently explained to him, "Eating just potatoes doesn't have much protein, so I might not grow tall, which is why I added five yuan worth of squid to the potatoes; squid has a very rich protein content."

"Emmm..." Chen Shu shifted his gaze, aiming at the back of her head, where there was a very short braided pigtail, "Did your sister braid your hair?"

"Yeah."

"It's so short, like a pig's tail."

"!"

"Then did you braid your sister's hair for her?"

"She braided it herself..."

"Sister's hair is so long now." Chen Shu walked behind Qingqing, first using his hand to fiddle with Qingqing's braided pigtail, then gripping it with his hand. Noticing that many of the gazes originally cast at Qingqing had become regretful, he grinned and, tugging on the hair, said to Qingqing, "Qingqing, your hair is so long now. I heard that a Cultivator's hair is very valuable; it can definitely sell for more. Sell it and treat us to a meal?"

"How valuable is it?" the little girl asked.

"I only heard about it too; I'd have to go outside and ask to know for sure." Chen Shu said uncertainly, "It could buy many meals, right?"

"It could buy a coffin for each of you." Qingqing's tone was devoid of emotion.

"Sister is truly hateful."

Chen Shu ignored her and only said to the little girl:

"Isn't that right?"

"Right!"

It seemed the little girl had been bullied recently; she answered without hesitation, loud and clear.

As they spoke, the three of them had already walked into the Sports Field.

It was still a bit cool in the early morning, and now inside the Sports Field, long jump, high jump, and shot put competitions were being held respectively—actually, it was not much different from his past life, only that because most people in this world were Cultivators and also had more or less mixed bloodlines from other races in their bodies, the results were slightly better.

"What do you want to watch?"

"Don't know."

"Let's just wander around... I'll go check over here first."

Chen Shu ran to the women's high jump competition venue first, squeezed into the very center, and opened his eyes wide.

A tall and long-legged girl was in the middle of her approach run.

Another tall and long-legged girl was preparing.

Behind them was a whole line of tall and long-legged girls; the fair, long legs were enough to dazzle anyone's eyes.

"Tsk tsk!"

As expected, the women's high jump was the most watchable sport.

The girl on her approach run took long strides, performed a beautiful Fosbury Flop, and even though her Spirit Power was sealed, she easily cleared the 1.5-meter-high bar.

*Thump*, she landed on the soft mat.

The second girl continued.

"Emm..."

Chen Shu silently retreated from the crowd and walked toward Qingqing, who was staring at him from across the way, saying nonchalantly, "Nothing much to see; these girls don't jump as high as the men. Let's come back to watch the men's group later..."

Ning Qing pursed her lips and didn't say a word.

Thus, the two sat side by side on the lawn, enjoying the beautiful spring sunshine. In their ears was the marching music drifting over the Sports Field, occasionally accompanied by the sound of students from one academy cheering for another, as well as gasps of Surprise from somewhere, not knowing who had achieved a good result.

Chen Shu scanned the area and found his sister-in-law.

The little girl was squeezing outside the women's shot put venue, standing on tiptoe and stretching her neck to look inside.

Yiguo was different from his past life; Yiguo had always been very powerful and had remained at the forefront when the new era arrived. People had a good standard of living, and with a high-protein diet guaranteed, their height was naturally tall. The little girl's 1.6-meter stature appeared somewhat petite in the crowd; he reckoned that even with her neck stretched out, she could only see in through the gap of someone in front.

Chen Shu turned his head again to look at Qingqing.

Qingqing was wearing a pair of light-colored skinny jeans, which were form-fitting and slenderizing; even with her legs bent, they looked exceptionally stunning.

The temperature was gradually starting to get hot.

Chen Shu reached a hand up to his brow to block the sun, then turned around and reached out to naturally touch Qingqing's pants, testing their thickness:

"Are you hot wearing those?"

"If you want to touch, you can just touch."

"..."

Chen Shu silently gave them two more touches, thought for a moment, and then pointed at a girl in front and said, "Look, everyone else is already wearing short skirts..."

"And so?"

"Why aren't you wearing shorts yet?"

"If you want to see, you can just say so."

"I want to see!"

"..."

Qingqing looked up at the sky; the banyan tree to the side hung down many aerial roots, its branches and leaves obscuring some of the blue sky, and she was silent for a moment before saying, "If you touch me again after I put on shorts, I'll break your hand."