Chapter 32

When Mu Er Pang mentioned it, Shen Cui realized who Little Fatty was.

During Mu Yunchuan’s humble beginnings, he had only one close friend, whose surname was Wei, and his name was Wei Shu.

Wei Shu had a younger brother named Wei Xi.

Wei Xi had some presence in the literary works, but mostly in unfavorable situations.

Now, consider what’s most common in exam-oriented literature. Naturally, it’s the foils to the male lead, and Wei Xi existed in that capacity for Mu Yunchuan.

In the original text, the Wei brothers were actually twins, but twins were considered ominous symbols in this era. If twins were born in the palace or in the homes of high-ranking officials, one child was almost always killed without hesitation.

The brothers were born—one robust and healthy, with a loud cry; the other small, weak, and with a soft cry, like that of a kitten.

It seemed that from the beginning, fate had made its choice between the two.

However, the Wei family couldn’t bear to kill Wei Xi, so they secretly sent him to the countryside, placing him in a village for care.

It wasn’t until Wei Xi was ten years old that any misfortune occurred. By then, the Wei family had prospered from a small town to the capital, and nothing untoward had happened.

Wei Xi’s frail condition persisted due to prenatal complications, leaving him weak and appearing younger than his age.

The Wei family brought him back home, publicly claiming he was two years younger, attributing his frailty to a birth defect and stating he had been raised in a Daoist temple, and now that he was of age, he could return home.

Top of Form

During his ten years away, although Wei Xi had servants attending to him and lacked for nothing in terms of food and drink, and even had a tutor to guide his studies, being separated from his family for more than a decade and confined to a small courtyard had left him somewhat estranged.

According to the timeline of the original text, he was brought into Qingzhu Academy by Wei Shu at this point. However, because he missed the spring recruitment, he entered the academy under unfavorable circumstances.

Historically, scholars tend to look down on those who enter through unconventional means, and the students who entered through regular examination procedures naturally looked down on him.

Having Wei Shu as his brother, the other students dared not do anything excessive, but they couldn’t resist making some disparaging remarks and poking fun at Wei Xi.

Sensitive by nature, Wei Xi bottled up his frustrations. Unwilling to linger in the academy any longer, he impulsively participated in the county-level examination.

However, being a foil to the protagonist, he naturally didn’t fare well when competing against Mu Yunchuan, the chosen one. Although he passed the examination, he was consistently overshadowed by Mu Yunchuan.

After the county-level examination came the provincial and metropolitan examinations, and he was pushed into the prefectural school by Mu Yunchuan.

Both coming from the same place and having attended Qingzhu Academy together, Wei Xi was constantly compared to Mu Yunchuan by the students at the prefectural school.

While Mu Yunchuan exuded an air of humility and integrity, Wei Xi was reserved, introverted, and lacked social skills. Even when Mu Yunchuan tried to approach him out of courtesy, Wei Xi would avoid him, giving the impression of being gloomy and difficult to get along with.

Wei Shu didn’t accompany him to the prefectural school, so without his care, Wei Xi’s situation during those two years could be imagined.

With more comparisons, Wei Xi inadvertently became determined to surpass Mu Yunchuan. He worked harder, but his health deteriorated further. He persisted until the provincial examination, where he passed with flying colors, ranking as a top scholar.

However, Mu Yunchuan naturally took the top spot.

There was no further development after that. Wei Xi fell ill due to depression, exacerbated by his frail health, and passed away before the next examination session.

If Mu Er Pang represented the importance of talent, then Wei Xi represented one’s character and demeanor.

Recalling this part of the plot, Shen Cui’s joy of gaining something for nothing disappeared, replaced by a sense of lamentation.

After lamenting, Shen Cui pondered further.

The fact that Lao Bu Yu accepted their Second Fatty into his tutelage was known by both Mu Yunchuan and the head of the academy.

It was also highly likely that Wei Shu knew about it, but he hadn’t told Wei Xi. Perhaps he didn’t want Wei Xi to become entangled with their family, thinking that if Wei Xi couldn’t find Lao Buyu later, he would naturally obey the arrangement and enter the academy.

Tomorrow’s apprenticeship matter might not go smoothly.

But since things have come to this point, there’s no use in overthinking it. She couldn’t just back out because things seemed troublesome.

Perhaps having raised her own child softened Shen Cui’s heart a bit. Thinking about the future fate of Wei Xi, she couldn’t bear to stand idly by.

Early the next morning, Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang got up as usual, washed up, and had breakfast prepared by Zhou Shi.

With the family’s food supplies running low, the breakfast that day was hand-rolled noodles made by Zhou Shi.

Since they were going to inform Wei Shu to come over today, Shen Cui didn’t keep it from Zhou Shi and told her that a student who admired Lao Bu Yu had followed them to the old house and might stay there for a while.

With one more person to feed, Zhou Shi would have to make an extra portion of food.

But for the efficient Zhou Shi, it was just another task. However, her expression became serious.

Because this was definitely something that needed to be reported to Mu Yun Chuan.

If Shen Cui had been wary of her and she had accidentally heard about it, she would have undoubtedly reported it without hesitation. But since Shen Cui had told her about it herself and didn’t treat her as an outsider, it would be very dishonest of her to go and report it now.

For a moment, Zhou Shi’s face turned pale with distress.

Taking advantage of this, Shen Cui said, “Yesterday, when Mu Er Pang reminded me, I realized that the young man is the younger brother of Da Lang’s good friend. Since he wants to apprentice, he naturally needs his brother’s permission. Since we’re running out of rice and noodles at home, you can go into town to buy some and also take a trip to the academy to pass on the news.”

This justified Zhou Shi’s reporting the news, and her complexion returned to normal. She stood up and said, “Then I’ll go make noodles for the master and Young Master, and then head into town.”

After Zhou Shi prepared two bowls of noodles, Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang quickly finished their breakfast. They each carried a bowl to deliver to Lao Bu Yu and Wei Xi.

Lao Bu Yu and Wei Xi had already gotten up. When they saw Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang bringing food, Wei Xi thanked them once again.

It was just a bowl of ordinary soy sauce noodles, but the broth was clear, the noodles were evenly thick, and there was a sprinkle of fresh green onions on top, making it both homely and delicious.

Especially with the chewy texture of the noodles, it was no less appetizing than those from a regular restaurant.

Wei Xi didn’t show any disdain. He finished his bowl of noodles clean and even praised, “Madam not only has a kind heart and a beautiful appearance but also remarkable cooking skills. In the future, when I study at your house, I’ll be able to enjoy delicious food as well.”

With this remark, Lao Bu Yu almost spat out his noodles, and Mu Er Pang’s expression was also strange, but they didn’t want to speak ill of Shen Cui.

Shen Cui glanced at them and then explained briefly about Mu Er Pang having seen his brother Wei Shu and his daughter-in-law going to the city to deliver a message.

Only then did Wei Xi stop talking about noodles. After finishing, he opened the window slightly and eagerly waited for Wei Shu to arrive.

He didn’t have to wait long. Less than an hour later, Wei Shu rushed to the old house.

Because they were waiting for him, the gate of the old house was wide open.

Wei Xi saw him through the window at a glance.

Wei Shu had not returned overnight, and Wei Shu was in the academy, so he did not know. It was only this morning that Zhou Shi found Mu Yunchuan and told him, and Mu Yunchuan relayed the message to him, that he learned that this kid had actually followed them to Shuiyun Village.

As Shen Cui had expected, Wei Shu had known that Lao Buyu had come to the Mu family, but he deliberately kept it from his brother, thinking that when his brother gave up his thoughts, he would naturally listen to him and go to the academy.

For the past few days, he had been trying hard to persuade the headmaster to give Wei Xi a chance. With Mu Yunchuan’s help, the headmaster finally relented the night before and said he could give Wei Xi a chance.

But who would have thought that in just one night, this brat would actually follow them here?

The two brothers exchanged glances, Wei Shu, who usually greeted people with a smile, had a black face, while Wei Xi, who usually had a cold demeanor, was smiling.

The brothers seemed to have switched roles.

Wei Shu pointed at him from the window and then stepped in quickly.

Seeing Lao Buyu and Shen Cui, he bowed first: “Greetings, Master, and Madam. My younger brother is unruly and has troubled you.”

Wei Xi was still eager to apprentice. After Wei Shu and they exchanged pleasantries, he announced openly, “The master has agreed to take me as his apprentice. Today, I can perform the apprenticeship ceremony, and I would like to trouble my brother to take care of everything for me.”

Wei Shu’s face darkened again.

This was a matter that the two brothers needed to discuss. Lao Buyu and Shen Cui exchanged a glance and then left the room.

Less than a quarter of an hour after they left, Wei Shu’s angry voice came from inside, just like when they had clashed on the street outside the academy. “I don’t care what you do, do as you please!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he strode out of the house in anger.

In his rage, Wei Shu still greeted Lao Bu Yu and Shen Cui before quickly leaving.

Lao Bu Yu and Shen Cui went back into the house to see Wei Xi. Wei Xi still had a smile on his face. “Master has heard it. My brother said he would go along with whatever I want. My foot doesn’t feel that painful today. Can I apprentice today?”

“This…” Lao Bu Yu was also a little embarrassed. Although they had agreed that as long as the little fatty’s brother agreed, they would officially perform the ceremony, Wei Shu’s appearance just now didn’t seem like he had agreed.

But soon Zhou Shi came over. She was a little slower than Wei Shu because of her slower pace, so she came back later.

She was accompanied by some shop assistants, who were carrying gifts such as dried fruits, dried meat, tea leaves, cloth, and other gifts for the apprenticeship ceremony.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that Wei Shu had bought them in advance and had them sent over before he rushed here.

Obviously, Wei Shu also knew that it was impossible to persuade his stubborn brother.

The apprenticeship ceremony this time was not grand, and it was even simpler because Wei Xi’s leg was inconvenient.

When Lao Bu Yu drank the tea presented by Wei Xi, Shen Cui received a task prompt.

[System Prompt: Choose a classmate task has been completed. Data for object number 2 has been generated.]

[Task reward: 300 shopping points, academy blueprint.]

Shen Cui: ??? What is this academy blueprint?