Chapter 195: Datou Wants to Learn Martial Arts
Since they were going to do it, there had to be a proper procedure for how to carry it out. Seeing that both men looked completely lost, Wen Xiuyi simply combined the methods of the interior design companies he had seen in his past life to help them smooth out the business bit by bit.
Their very first order of business would be using Wen Nong’s restaurant for practice.
“Eldest Brother, but neither Brother Zhang nor I can read, and neither of us knows how to draw blueprints either. How do we manage this?” Jiao Jian tried very hard to keep up with Wen Xiuyi’s rhythm and was also digesting the things he was being taught as best as he could.
Whatever he truly couldn’t understand, he would memorize by rote, intending to return home and mull over it slowly.
Wen Xiuyi was also thoroughly bewildered. Scratching his head, he stood at the door and began shouting for Wen Yao.
“Wen Yao! Wen Yao!”
Wen Yao came out from the backyard holding a stack of papers, responding impatiently, “Coming, coming! Are you calling for a ghost?”
Once the girl reached his side, Wen Xiuyi couldn’t resist poking her forehead. “That mouth of yours—sooner or late, your grandma is going to rip it apart.”
Wen Yao let out a yawn, stuffing the items in her hand into Wen Xiuyi’s grasp. “Here, I drew these overnight last night. Give them to Eldest Cousin and the others to use for now.”
After saying this, Wen Yao waved her hand and walked away.
These blueprints were all drawn by Wen Yao last night after flipping through books on ancient architecture, garden layouts, and ancient interior decoration drawings.
Had it not been for the lack of time, she could have drawn them all in full color.
Looking at the thick stack of blueprints in his hand, Wen Xiuyi finally understood why this girl had been so listless all day today, with heavy dark circles under her eyes.
He let out a sigh of heartache. Although this girl claimed she wouldn’t involve herself, she worried more than anyone else.
However, with these blueprints, Carpenter Zhang and Jiao Jian ought to have some inspiration now.
The rest could be left for them to grope their way through and figure out on their own. The master brings you through the door, but the cultivation still depends on the individual; they would just help keep an eye on things.
With so much work, relying solely on the two of them would definitely not suffice. Wen Xiuyi had taught them the general direction, and the rest was up to them. First and foremost, they had to find a few laborers to work with them.
Carpenter Zhang said he could bring his own brothers to work along. Jiao Jian thought about it; his younger brother was currently working at the yamen, so that probably wouldn’t work. The cousins on the Wen family’s side were even less feasible since they were busier than he was. Thus, he could only return to the village to look among the paternal cousins in Jiaojia Village and pick two decent, dutiful individuals to lead and start working with first.
The two left the Wen residence in high spirits. They didn’t want Wen Xiuyi to send them in the carriage either, intending to walk all the way back so they could thoroughly discuss how this interior design team should operate along the way.
Once they gathered the people, they could begin decorating Wen Nong’s shop. Wen Xiuyi even suggested to them that when the time came, he would write a banner for them to hang right at the shop entrance, reading: Jianqiao Interior Design Team in Construction. When bystanders saw it, they would definitely come to ask, and business would pour in then.
Both men felt this suggestion was wonderful, and each expressed their gratitude to Wen Xiuyi before leaving with complete peace of mind.
Originally, Wen Yao thought that the Li family father and son were just going to sponge a few meals and that would be the end of it. Yet, when the few boys who went to school returned in the evening, they surprisingly saw Li Yi again.
Datou had already lost the excitement of the previous day, but a happy smile still hung on his small face. It was only from the mouths of Wen Jin and Wen Fa that Wen Yao learned that this Li Yi had actually been invited by Datou both times.
Now Wen Yao was baffled. What exactly was this little tot trying to do?
Finding an opportunity, Wen Yao pulled Datou to the side.
“Datou, tell Sister the truth. Why do you keep bringing Young Master Li to our house?” Wen Yao asked.
Datou twitched his hands, hesitating for a long time before blurting out a sentence: “I want to learn martial arts from Brother Xun Feng.”
Wen Yao was stunned.
“Huh?”
Learn martial arts? How did Datou suddenly get this idea?
Then again, in the original book, Wen Zhao was a rising star in the capital who excelled in both scholarship and martial arts. It was just that in the original book, Datou’s martial arts were taught by a martial master hired by Meng De and his stepmother. There was no specific description of who exactly taught him, only stating that the person’s martial arts were excellent.
It was just that no matter how good his martial arts were, it was useless; in the end, he was still killed by that boy.
In this lifetime, they didn’t want Datou to walk his original path. Who could have thought that Datou would actually fixate on it himself first?
Despite her surprise, Wen Yao still asked patiently, “Why do you suddenly want to learn martial arts?”
This boy couldn’t possibly have been influenced by Wen Fa and want to become some Great General too, right?
Datou balled his fists, saying with a firm face, “Brother Xun Feng’s martial arts are very powerful, and he can protect Brother Li. If Datou knows martial arts, I can protect Sister, Father, and Brothers.”
Wen Yao: “…” Why did she feel so touched all of a sudden?
But they didn’t need this boy to protect them either, and exactly where did he see that they needed protection? As long as their family lived peacefully and dutifully, who would randomly come to kill them for fun?
“Datou, you are still young. If anyone is to do the protecting, it should be your brothers, sister, and father protecting you, not you protecting us. Right now, you only need to grow up happily and cheerfully and study well. Don’t spend all day thinking about random things.
Besides, even if you want to learn, they might not necessarily be willing to teach you.”
Wen Yao truly didn’t want to dampen the boy’s enthusiasm, but learning martial arts was simply too bitter. Didn’t television shows always portray it that way?
Datou, however, tilted his head and said, “But Brother Xun Feng has already agreed.”
Crash!
Wen Yao almost lost her footing.
“What? He agreed? When did you ask him?” This brat was getting quite bold; now he dared to make decisions secretly on his own without consulting them!
“Just today, on the way back! Brother Li said that if we really want to learn, we can have Brother Xun Feng teach us, and he can teach us too. Furthermore, if that’s the case, then Brother Li and Brother Xun Feng can keep staying at our house in the future,” Datou answered truthfully.
Wen Yao raised her hand to interrupt him. “Wait, we?” As for whether Li Yi and Xun Feng stayed at her house or not, Wen Yao didn’t really care; it was just a matter of adding two pairs of chopsticks.
Datou grinned. “That’s right! Me, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, along with Xie Anyi and Jin Xiuyi. We are good friends, so of course we have to learn together.”
Wen Yao fell silent for a long moment.
After a while, she finally spoke up: “Then how about… you guys add one more?”
To be honest, she also wanted to fly around.
Since there were so many people anyway, adding her wouldn’t make much of a difference, right?
After dinner, Datou excitedly announced this ‘good news’ to everyone in the Wen family, reaping a stretch of silence in return.
As one of the main protagonists, Xun Feng could only smile awkwardly.
He hadn’t wanted to agree either; teaching a group of little toddlers martial arts was something he had never done before! However, casting a glance at his own young master, Xun Feng could only silently accept his fate.
“This…” Only after a long while did the Wen family members snap out of it. Old Man Wen looked at Wen Xiuyi in utter bewilderment, then looked at Old Madam Luo.
