Chapter 103: “BMW ‘Four Hundred Votes Bonus Chapter'”

Chapter 103: "BMW 'Four Hundred Votes Bonus Chapter'"

Qiu Huanian and his group spent four days returning to the provincial capital. Before their departure, they had sent a letter to Zhu Jingwei, and upon their return, the mansion had already been tidied up in advance.

After resting for a day, Qiu Huanian was invited by Su Xinbai to his residence the next day to retrieve the cat.

Before Qiu Huanian and his group left, they had sent Nai Shuang to Su Xinbai, asking him to take care of the cat while Nai Shuang could also keep Su Xinbai entertained.

When Qiu Huanian arrived at the Zhu residence and entered the courtyard shared by Su Xinbai and Zhu Jingcheng, he noticed they had already replaced the door curtains with thick crimson felt curtains, and a brazier was placed in the main room.

Su Xinbai, wrapped in a snow-white fox fur coat, was sitting on a traditional bed reading a book. The bed was piled with soft cushions lest he get even the slightest bump.

Su Xinbai had become pregnant in early April, and now, after more than six months, he was well into his pregnancy. Under his loose clothing, his belly was visibly swollen, which made Qiu Huanian’s heart race.

Su Xinbai, as the one experiencing it, had already grown accustomed to it. He invited Qiu Huanian to sit beside him and instructed the maids to prepare tea.

The room was quite warm, so Qiu Huanian removed his outer garment. Seeing this, Su Xinbai had the brazier moved further away.

"You’re already dreading the summer heat and winter cold. It must be quite a burden," Su Xinbai said with a gentle expression, lightly touching his belly. "The nanny says the baby is quite calm. It’ll be over by February next year."

Curious, Qiu Huanian reached out his hand, but Su Xinbai slapped it away.

"If you want to feel it, go have your own child."

Qiu Huanian pouted, reminding himself not to argue with a pregnant man.

He was only at the beginning of this experience; Zhu Jingcheng was the "first victim" of Su Xinbai’s mood swings during pregnancy.

Su Xinbai’s cravings changed every few days, his preferences swung wildly, and Zhu Jingcheng had to report his every move and couldn’t be away for more than half a day. These were just the minor issues.

It was said that once, Su Xinbai woke up in the middle of the night and burst into tears, which scared Zhu Jingcheng awake. Zhu Jingcheng quickly held him to comfort him, only to be bitten hard enough to break the skin.

Qiu Huanian learned about this from a letter Su Xinbai had sent him recently, where Su Xinbai had hinted at the incident.

After waking up the next day, Su Xinbai felt remorseful but didn’t know how to apologize or make amends. In a panic, he wrote to Qiu Huanian, repeatedly emphasizing that he must not reveal this to anyone.

Qiu Huanian only replied with one sentence:

—"Maybe Zhu Jingcheng actually liked it."

Su Xinbai burned the letter, blushed, and sat in silence for a good while, pretending he had never asked.

Of course, the compensation was eventually given, after Su Xinbai gathered the courage to ask, and Zhu Jingcheng himself proposed it.

What exactly the compensation was, only the two of them knew.

For ten days straight after the compensation, Su Xinbai wouldn’t allow Zhu Jingcheng to sleep in the bed at night, and his face would turn crimson whenever he saw Zhu Jingcheng.

No one knew exactly how Zhu Jingcheng had "bullied" Su Xinbai.

...

Thinking of Qiu Huanian’s nonsensical reply, Su Xinbai glared at him weakly.

Qiu Huanian pretended not to notice and changed the subject, "You asked me to come get Nai Shuang. Where is he?"

"He’s playing outside. Dian Mo, have someone bring Nai Shuang in."

After not seeing Milk Frost for more than half a month, Qiu Huanian felt that the cat had also become rounder.

The majestic long-haired lion cat was starting to show its full splendor, with a small knitted scarf around its neck in a tiger-stripe pattern.

This was something Qiu Huanian had casually mentioned in a previous conversation, and Su Xinbai had it made.

Qiu Huanian picked up Milk Frost and weighed it, "It's not my imagination; it's gained at least two pounds."

Qiu Huanian held Milk Frost under its armpits, stretching it out like a straight stick. It opened its mouth to meow, looking somewhat aggrieved.

Su Xinbai spoke up for Milk Frost, "It's still young and growing."

Not mentioning at all how much he had spoiled Milk Frost with treats over the past half month.

Qiu Huanian narrowed his eyes, staring at the seemingly innocent Milk Frost, then glanced at the equally innocent Su Xinbai.

"..."

Was there really no way to handle this pair?

Qiu Huanian curled his lips, "I just got back yesterday, and you couldn't wait to have me come get Milk Frost. It seems you don't like the little guy. Maybe I shouldn't trouble you with such things in the future."

Su Xinbai opened his mouth.

Qiu Huanian pretended not to notice and continued, "Jingcheng thought you liked cats and seems to be considering getting some pets. Looks like he got the wrong idea. Since you're too shy to say it, should I remind him?"

"..."

Su Xinbai wanted to speak, but his gut told him that opening his mouth would only land him in Qiu Huanian's trap.

Su Xinbai had never met a more clever and cunning person than Qiu Huanian.

"Sigh, I should just take Milk Frost and go. You're pregnant and carrying extra weight, we shouldn't trouble you." Qiu Huanian said, picking up Milk Frost as if to leave.

Su Xinbai instinctively reached out to stop him.

"...Who said I was annoyed?" His voice was as soft as a mosquito's.

Qiu Huanian turned and smiled, "I knew it. If you miss me, just say so. No need to make up an excuse about picking up a cat."

"..." Su Xinbai glared at him, but it had no effect.

The countless "battles" between Su Cat and Qiu Milk Bun once again ended with Qiu Milk Bun's complete victory. His filling wasn't just yellow; it could also be mixed with black sesame.

All jokes aside, Qiu Huanian hadn't seen Su Xinbai in a while and missed him. He spent half the day chatting with Su Xinbai, sharing many village stories, and even enjoyed an extravagant meal Su Xinbai had prepared for his pregnancy.

Qiu Huanian ordered all the books from Qimin Bookstore, two copies of each, to be sent to the Du Village school, with two copies of every new book to be sent monthly in the future.

Hearing about Qiu Huanian's initiative to have all children, regardless of gender, study together, Su Xinbai was deep in thought.

"Xian'er and the others are already using your book to study arithmetic and equations in their small school. Many women in Xiangping Prefecture are reading it, but the men's schools outside still focus only on the classics."

Qiu Huanian smiled, "After all, the imperial examination only covers the classics. It's a matter of pragmatism."

Qiu Huanian knew that one couldn't become fat in one bite. It was already good that many people were willing to learn arithmetic at the beginning. Women and boys didn't necessarily learn worse than men.

One must eat bite by bite, and walk the path step by step.

"Take good care of yourself. The baby should be born before I accompany Yun Se to the capital for the imperial examination. Don't forget, I’m going to be the godfather."

Su Xinbai curled his lips, still defiant, "Call you godfather and learn your silver-tongued ways?"

Qiu Huanian said without a hint of modesty, "If you could really learn from me, you'd be secretly delighted. Aren't you so happy talking to me?"

Su Xinbai neither admitted nor denied it.

...

After returning from the village to the city, Qiu Huanian's family took a few days to adjust and once again settled back into city life.

Jiu Jiu and Chun Sheng continued their respective studies, while Du Yunse also prepared for the next spring's imperial examination. He had promised Qiu Huanian to strive for the top spot in the imperial exams and kept it in mind.

Du Yunse was no longer studying at Qingfeng Academy but still frequently visited the academy's teachers to consult.

Qiu Huanian, meanwhile, was busy getting winter clothes ready for the family.

All the hides saved from last year were dug out, and Bao Yi and Wu Shen sent some more through others, enough to sew a pair of leather boots and a fur-lined hat for each family member, including Yun Cheng and his wife.

The woven velvet brocade, soft wool, and thick felt were all premium materials bought from the Zhu family, with bright colors, beautiful patterns, and excellent quality.

The bulk of the cotton produced by the estate was sold to the Commander of Liaozhou, with eight thousand pounds of cotton sold for only a thousand taels of silver, a steal.

The Commander of Liaozhou made sure Qiu Huanian didn’t come up short; though short on cash, he could still give fame.

He directly submitted a memorial to the court, as usual pleading poverty, while greatly praising Lady Qishu for voluntarily selling cotton to the border troops at a low price.

The Yuanhua Emperor brought this memorial to the morning assembly, verbally praising Qiu Huanian, driving the point home—he knew his ministers were all rich, so they should quickly learn from Lady Qishu to share the country's burdens.

No matter what the courtiers thought in their hearts, they could not openly defy the emperor. After the court, they huddled at home to discuss and then dispatched their households with lists to the Ministry of War to donate money and goods.

Prince Pingxian started off by donating ten carts of charcoal. The Yuanhua Emperor, fearing his elder brother might run out of charcoal, specially sent his head eunuch Wen Xing to Prince Pingxian's residence to advise his elder brother not to overextend himself.

After Wen Xing left, Prince Pingxian filed a petition saying his family was well-off and there was no need for the emperor to worry, then donated another twenty carts of charcoal and five hundred rolls of cotton fabric. In private, he was upset for several days.

The third prince, Prince Jin, donated the most, with a wave of his hand giving a thousand dan of grain and a thousand rolls of cloth, and wrote a heartfelt article expressing concern for the border troops and a desire to share his father's burdens, attracting countless praises and briefly stealing the show.

Prince Jin was able to gather so many supplies to donate in such a short time, thanks to his mother's family and her relatives. Many interconnected noble families, such as the Yu Clan of Liaozhou, were subtly standing behind the third prince.

The Yuanhua Emperor, nearing fifty, though not showing signs of aging, a change in the throne seemed imminent. The crown prince was weak in health and had lost the emperor's favor, making everything possible.

The rewards of backing the future emperor, who in this world could resist not striving for it?

The supplies donated by the courtiers and nobles were largely sent to Liaozhou, much to the delight of the Commander of Liaozhou, who viewed Qiu Huanian even more favorably.

He had his family invite Qiu Huanian to more banquets and reluctantly gave Qiu Huanian a fine steed.

This horse was captured by the border troops from the Tatars last year, its original owner on the grassland was at least a commander of a thousand.

The horse was entirely black, standing as tall as one and a half men, with a satin-like coat without a single stray hair, every muscle robust and smooth, and one could feel its restless, boiling energy when close.

Qiu Huanian dared not ride this horse himself, named it "Xuanye," and then gifted it to Du Yunse.

The next day, Du Yunse took Qiu Huanian to the estate riding Xuanye. Qiu Huanian, never having ridden such a spirited horse, spent the entire ride clinging in Du Yunse's arms, constantly fearing he would be thrown off, feeling it was more thrilling than riding a pirate ship in modern times.

By the time they arrived at the estate, Qiu Huanian was drenched in sweat.

Once at the estate, Qiu Huanian ordered a hot spring prepared and soaked in the hot spring with Du Yunse.

This relaxation lasted the entire afternoon, and it was only at dinner time that Du Yunse carried the exhausted Qiu Huanian out.

Qiu Huanian lay obediently wrapped in the blanket, letting Du Yunse dry his hair. His ear tips were burning red, and he looked content.

Du Yunse touched his waist, and Qiu Huanian hissed in pain.

"Will Brother Hua dare to cause such a ruckus again, hmm?"

The reason things got so out of hand today was largely due to Qiu Huanian's bizarrely rich "theoretical knowledge," which resulted in endless experimentation.

Qiu Huanian buried his face in the blanket, and after a while, a muffled voice emerged.

"What do you think?"

Du Yunse chuckled, shook his head, and continued to massage Qiu Huanian's body slowly.