Chapter Nine Preparations

  Xu Yuansuo runs back and forth for Fuzi, looking up materials, writing texts, of course, it is not to respect the teacher and enjoy helping others.

  From his subconscious mind, all behaviors are based on transaction.

  Since one has put in the effort, it is only natural to receive compensation.

  It's unrealistic to think that Xu Yuanzuo would take out money, given his understanding of Lu Fuzi. Firstly, he knew that Lu Fuzi himself was short on cash. Secondly, Lu Fuzi attached great importance to wealth and would naturally assume that the second son of the Xu family, still under his control, should help with errands as a matter of course.

  What's more, this brother was also his own student in the past.

  Fortunately, Xu Yuansuo didn't think of making such a small profit at first either.

  "Master, I'd like to go to the county town to gain some experience and learn about managing a business. If you have any acquaintances in the business world, could you please introduce me?" Xu Yuansuo said respectfully.

  This price was carefully analyzed by Xu Yuansuo.

  Lu Fu Zi himself was a Shengyuan, in the county school there were classmates who had one vote, even if they didn't pass the Huiren exam, they would still be able to enter the Guozijian by seniority. Such an identity might belong to the "bottom layer" in the imperial court, but in reality, it was a local virtuous person, at least equivalent to a municipal CPPCC member or a People's Congress representative.

  Furthermore, the Lu family is also doing business. Mr. Lu's son is a merchant who sells silk fabrics. Whether they make money or not is another matter, but the shops in the county town will always recognize a few of them.

  In this era, apprentices and assistants are not casually accepted. If they are not old friends of the same sect, they must be recommended by reliable people. Since Lu Fu Zi has a certain status and connections, recommending himself to find a job is no problem in terms of technology.

  What Lu Fuzi was worried about was that Xu Yuansuo's small favor was not worthy of using up his personal connections.

  "This matter is indeed difficult to handle..." Lu Fu Zi's eyes rolled and he began to sing in a flowery tone.

  "I also beg Master to take care. What is most distressing in the student's heart is not the difficulties at home, but rather that he cannot offer a decent gift to Master." Xu Yuansu secretly scolded this old man for being insatiably greedy, while on his face, he put on an expression of deep regret and remorse, as if he really felt extremely ashamed in front of the teacher.

  Lu Fu Zi naturally heard the stringed song and knew the elegant meaning, his heart was delighted, and the corner of his mouth unconsciously opened: "This matter is not easy to handle, mainly because I'm worried that the person I recommend is not good, and it will hurt the relationship between the two families. However, you are someone I've watched grow up, I know your roots and bottom, and you're always honest and cautious, usually not even saying a word, how can people not trust you? So while others may be difficult to handle, you are extremely easy to handle."

  Xu Yuansuo was also hearing someone praise "himself" for the first time, and he laughed: "Thank you, Master. It's really not scary to work hard under your guidance."

  Lu Fu Zi shook his head and said, "What's the point of being in the same village? I only hope you still remember your ambition to pursue learning, and after gaining some wealth and status, you'll make another attempt at achieving honor, not letting my efforts go to waste."

  "That's right, students will surely remember it." Xu Yuansuo responded in agreement.

  Lu Fu's writing skills were average, and at the age of 50, he was still just a scholar. However, when it came to interpersonal relationships, he was not a pedantic person. In Jiangnan, commerce was thriving, and entrusting personal connections was a common practice. Recommending one or two young men to work in a business was also a very ordinary thing.

  If he were to casually find a job for Xu Yuansuo, one would not be able to show off his own abilities, and two, he was also afraid that Xu Yuansuo would be dissatisfied in his heart, and the filial piety he received later would inevitably be greatly discounted.

  With this consideration, Lu Fu Zi really went all out to help Xu Yuan Zuo find a job, even going to the county town personally two or three times.

  Xu Yuansuo wasn't afraid of a slow response, what he feared was that Lu Fuzi would find some trivial task for him to do just to humor him.

  If that's the case, even if it means tearing my face apart, I won't go. Otherwise, there will be no way out for the rest of my life. This is actually similar to finding the first job after graduating from university. For people with ambition and perseverance, being a small clerk in one of the world's top 500 companies has a brighter career prospect than being a small manager in a private enterprise.

  According to Xuyuansuo's psychological analysis of Lufuzi, it is determined that Lufuzi is a person who will definitely work hard when he gets benefits from others. This kind of person seems indifferent to outsiders, and even a bit arrogant, but in fact, they have high moral requirements for themselves, and will not take money without doing things or perfunctorily.

  Even if he knew it, Xu Yuansu still had to go to the academy from time to time to show his presence. For example, sending his younger brother to school, bringing some breakfast for the teacher, or going in to make tea and pour water during the teacher's self-study time, sending a hot towel... These were all small favors, but they could remind Lu Shifu of his existence.

  It can also be regarded as a disguised urging.

  At times when he didn't need to pretend, Xu Yuanshuo wasn't always staying in the house reading and writing, reviewing math and accounting. He already had all the skills needed to cope with his current job, more importantly, to change his image and establish a solid and reliable network of connections.

  In terms of image, "stupid and clumsy" is a double-edged sword.

  Most people are willing to communicate with others from a superior position, and everyone knows that begging with their necks raised is not a good deal. This stupid and clumsy person just satisfies the psychology of the masses, and it's also what Dai Tianyan calls "a talisman" - who says new shoes can't step on dog shit? Who would bother to calculate with such a stupid and clumsy person?

  However, from another perspective, being stupid and clumsy can also make people lose trust. Being stupid is still acceptable, but being foolish and clumsy directly affects work ability, and even makes people worry about whether they will cause trouble or mess things up.

  If you are your own boss, then it's no problem, but now that you're still on the job search path, letting the employer have this concern is naturally not good.

  Xu Yuansuo's current task is to change "stupid" to "dumb and tight-lipped", and change "foolish" to "cautious and mature". The foundation, however, is physical: fat.

  One white covers three uglinesses; one fat destroys all. This is a principle that has been in effect throughout the ages and dynasties.

  Even in the Tang Dynasty, where "plump" was considered beautiful, what people loved was "voluptuousness", not "fat". Moreover, the mainstream aesthetic of China is still a slender waist, like the flying swallow on the palm, or Xi Shi holding her heart... Translated to men's bodies, it would be muscular yet elegant, refined and cultured, which has been the mainstream among scholars throughout history.

  Xu Yuansuo traveled to Zhu Li and nearby temples of all sizes, looking at many albums, and came to a conclusion: All the heroic figures in history - from Yue Fei and Han Shizhong to Wu Song and Lu Zhishen - without saying how they really looked, all artistic images are big and round, with a big belly.

  Just like the image of Hercules in later generations.

  Xu Yuansuo did not intend to take the path of a martial hero and had no confidence in really becoming a great warrior, so he naturally would not choose this image.

  What about those bulging muscles?

  That's even worse!

  In artistic images, all the muscular ones are little devils.

  Those are the little ghosts trampled under the feet of the mighty Vajrapani guardians.

  Furthermore, during the period of insufficient protein intake for development, Xu Yuanshuo also lacked the conditions to build a muscular physique.

  So the best route is self-strengthening exercises.

  Exercise with your own weight, while shaping, you can also practice extraordinary strength and explosive power. From the appearance, it will not be overly fat and dull, but also give people a spiritual refreshment, full of powerful feeling.

  What's more convenient is that self-weight training doesn't require any equipment at all in the initial stage, and even when you get stronger later on, you only need simple devices like parallel bars or gymnastic rings that you can make yourself.

  Xu Yuansuo was also infatuated with this before crossing over and had already taken a few private lessons, but hadn't seen any results yet when he came to the Great Ming Dynasty. Now it's just right to start practicing, and as his status step by step moves up, his physical endurance will also become greater and greater.

  To be a successful person, one must first withstand the test of tempering.

  To withstand tempering, both body and mind must be strong.

  Xu Yuansuo was drenched in sweat, feeling the burning heat of his chest muscles, and the soreness of his arms and shoulders. He panted heavily as he counted: "Eighteen, nineteen, twenty..."

  "Brother? What are you doing?" Xu Liangzuo returned home and was very curious about Xu Yuansu, who was exercising with his shirt off.

  "Push-ups!" Xu Yuansuo took a deep breath and said with difficulty.

  Xu Liangzuo became even more curious, imitating his brother's appearance and trying two, saying somewhat bored: "What's the use of this?"

  "Exercise..." Xu Yuansuo counted out in a low voice: "Twenty-three, twenty-four... twenty-five!"

  Mission accomplished!

  Xu Yuansuo was so scared that he stuck himself to the wall.

  Yes, Xu Yuanshuo still can't do standard push-ups and can only start with wall push-ups.