Transmigrated As A Scholar Chapter 26 Part 1

Chapter 26

When Fang Yu returned to the Fang family residence, the sky was already completely dark, and he carried the evening's chill with him. He jumped off the carriage and trotted into the house. Before he even reached the outside of Xiaotong Courtyard, he opened his mouth and called out: "Hezhi, have you eaten dinner yet?"

The person inside who had been looking over the account books put down his work and quickly stood up to greet him, but he wasn't as fast as the newcomer. He had just stood up when the other person came in first.

Qiao Hezhi smiled and said: "Master, why are you in such a hurry? Didn't you say you wouldn't be having dinner at home today when you left this morning? The food at home is already prepared, just waiting for Master to return to eat."

Thinking the man must be starving, Qiao Hezhi finished speaking and immediately sent a servant to set out the dishes.

Upon hearing that he hadn't eaten yet, Fang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down in front of the couch and took a sip of hot ginger tea to warm up: "At noon, we had a vegetarian feast at Lingxuan Cave Mountain. My appetite was just so-so. Besides, it was all scholars I'm not familiar with, and I had to act refined and polite. I didn't get to eat many bites of food, but I drank quite a lot of wine."

Listening to Fang Yu complain like a child, Qiao Hezhi couldn't help but laugh: "I went to Yanling Manor with my father before. That kitchen's skills are really somewhat mediocre. I didn't expect that after all these years, it's still like this. It's also my fault. If I had known it was still that same cook, I would have prepared some food for Master beforehand."

He comforted the man again: "When I went out this morning, I happened to come across a hunter selling a deer he had hunted. I saw the deer's body temperature was still warm; it was freshly hunted, so I bought it. In the afternoon, it was butchered. I made venison meatballs stewed with tofu and simmered the deer tendons."

"Thinking Master likes stir-fried dishes, I also prepared a plate of sliced venison. I had just finished and returned to the room when Master happened to come back."

Hearing there was venison to eat, Fang Yu felt happy in his heart and put down his teacup: "What kind of deer was it? How much did it weigh?"

"It was a doe, over ten catties heavy." Seeing he enjoyed hearing these details, Qiao Hezhi chatted on: "I bought it for eight taels of silver."

Hearing this, Fang Yu sighed: "It's the end of the year; that hunter has raised his prices."

"Exactly so. But Master, don't feel sorry about the money. Venison is hard to come by, unlike common chicken, duck, or fish. It's normal for it to be expensive. Besides, meat can be preserved longer in winter. This one deer is enough to eat for a long time. It's perfect whether for hosting guests or making roasted meat. I also bought some fruitwood, it will be most suitable for roasting venison later."

[果木 (guǒ mù): lit. fruit tree wood; fig. wood from trees like apple or pear, often used for smoking duck or in fine furniture].

Fang Yu listened to the many ways to prepare it, his eyes lighting up with a smile as he anticipated the culinary delights to come: "You really know how to plan."

As soon as he finished speaking, the servant brought the dishes into the room. Fang Yu, unable to restrain his eagerness, went to the table and started tasting the venison, not even rushing to drink the warm soup served before the meal.

The venison was lean but not tough, completely lacking any greasy feeling. This one bite instantly made up for the emptiness in his stomach all afternoon.

"Come, you've worked hard all day, you should eat more too." Fang Yu picked up food for Qiao Hezhi: "I find the meat really is excellent. Tomorrow I'll wrap a portion to respectfully present to my Master."

"Good, then I'll have a servant select a good portion for you."

After eating his fill, Fang Yu still had to return to the study to complete the assigned schoolwork. Fortunately, he had prepared in advance, so it was quick.

Qiao Hezhi followed him into the study. Nowadays, since there were both new storybooks and food guides in the study, whenever he was around, he would almost always come over. These past two days, he simply moved the account books and ledgers he usually read into the study.

Qiao Hezhi never disturbed Fang Yu in the study. Unless Fang Yu spoke first, he would be honestly doing his own things. Fang Yu was quite accustomed to having him keep company.

While writing his essay, he handed the travelogue he wrote today to Qiao Hezhi to read and pass the time. They didn't speak until the essay was finished.

"Master has to get up early for class tomorrow, and you were out in the cold all day today. I got some mugwort packs from the eastern city medical hall. Soak in a hot bath later before resting."

Fang Yu put down his brush: "Perfect for driving out the cold."

He had originally wanted to bathe. When he returned to his room, Qiao Hezhi, knowing he wanted to bathe and didn't like others attending him, did not follow, but went back to Xiaotong Courtyard by himself.

After soaking in a mugwort bath, his whole body felt comfortable. However, Fang Yu also discovered in the steam that the flesh all over his body had become somewhat soft and loose.

His original body was of a lean build, but after getting married, he ate rich food and didn't pay attention to managing his figure, so he had gained some weight. He also loved to eat. Currently, although his stomach hadn't grown fat, the flesh felt soft when pinched. Usually, wrapped in thick clothes, it went unnoticed, but now it could no longer be hidden.

He was also someone who cared a great deal about his appearance. And since Qiao Hezhi sometimes shared his bed, letting things continue this way was unacceptable. He resolved then and there to start getting his physique in order...

The next day, when Fang Yu arrived at the academy, he felt it was more lively than usual at the entrance. This wasn't strange at all; they had just attended the literary gathering yesterday, and everyone meeting at the academy today would naturally want to chat about it properly.

"Do you know Liang Minxu from Teacher Zhang's classroom?"

"Who is that?"

"His father is a village school teacher, often drinks and gathers with poetry friends. Two years ago, he even received praise from the Education Commissioner for his poetry, that one."

"It's him, I know a little. What about him?"

"Yesterday he gave a fellow student a hard time, loudly laughing at him for having a fake invitation. Guess what happened?"

"What? Was someone really using a fake invitation to try and sneak in?"

"That fellow student turned out to be a guest of honor at Education Commissioner Li's table... Liang Minxu lost a lot of face."

Fang Yu overheard the scattered discussions about Liang Minxu and shook his head. If the man himself heard all this talk, he’d surely be burning with shame.