Chapter 2
The next day, during breakfast, Hu Dan Niu loudly called out "Honey Pot" to Mrs. Yang.
Silence fell over the room for a moment, and everyone, suppressing their laughter, shifted their gazes to Lu Ye. It seemed this mushy term was contagious.
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng, however, remained as usual. Wouldn't affectionate couples behave this way? It was all so normal that neither of them noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Watching Mrs. Yang's blissful and sweet expression, Ma San suddenly had an inspiration. He looked longingly at his own wife, Liu Shi, and felt it was time to give her a pet name too. "Guai Bao" was taken by the eldest madam, and "Mi" was taken by Mrs. Yang. What about "Xin Gan" (sweetheart)? "Xin Jian Jian" (dearest)? "Xiao Tian Tian" (little sweetie)?
No one noticed Ma San's rich inner monologue. After breakfast, those who needed to work went about their tasks.
Ma San chased after his wife and caught up to her in the kitchen.
Tian Gui Hua was wiping down tables and cleaning in the main hall. Liu Shi was preparing to wash dishes. When she turned, she saw her husband standing awkwardly behind her.
"What's wrong? Didn't you eat enough?" Liu Shi asked, looking at him.
"No... not that..." Ma San scratched the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly.
"Are you looking for spending money?" Liu Shi thought her husband seemed a bit off.
"Also... not that," Ma San's tongue felt a bit clumsy. He kept trying to say the words, but his mouth wouldn't cooperate.
"Silly!" Liu Shi said impatiently, giving Ma San a glare before turning to roll up her sleeves to wash dishes.
Just then, Ma San found his courage. He stepped forward, hugged Liu Shi from behind, and mumbled, "Xiao... Tian Tian. Mmm~ You are my... my Xiao Tian Tian."
Good heavens!
Liu Shi felt her legs tremble, unable to stand. She was already in her late twenties, almost thirty, and her husband was calling her "Xiao Tian Tian"? If anyone heard, they'd burst out laughing.
She was about to turn around and give her husband a few thumps on the head when she saw the love in his eyes and couldn't bring herself to do it.
Gradually, a trace of softness bloomed in her heart. Xiao Tian Tian? It didn't sound too bad. It made her feel rather pampered.
Seeing his wife's tacit acceptance and lack of retaliation, Ma San's courage surged. He shamelessly changed his tone and began a "Xiao Tian Tian" loop.
Tian Gui Hua stepped through the threshold and froze for a moment. She wanted to cover her eyes and her ears, then immediately turned away, "You two continue, I'm blind! And deaf!"
Oh dear, mushiness was indeed contagious. All the married men in Hongshu Slope were acting abnormal!
Tian Gui Hua didn't know that before long, Hongshu Slope would erupt in a craze for men giving their wives pet names. Sweet names wouldn't be enough, and "Xiao Sha Sha" (little silly), "Xiao Ben Ben" (little dummy), "Xiao Chun Chun" (little dorky), "Xiao Ma Que" (little sparrow), "Xiao Qing Gua" (little cucumber)... would all make their debut.
Of course, that was a story for another time.
Seeing that everyone else had gone about their business and there were few people left in the house, Wen Zhi Mo mysteriously called Bai Sheng and Lu Ye into the room where he was staying. He then pulled out a large, securely bound box from under the bed.
Lu Ye had a vivid memory of this large box. The other day, when he had asked Wen Zhi Mo to come as a witness, Wen Zhi Mo insisted on bringing it with him before he left.
He had kept it close all the way. Even when he stopped to relieve himself, he had asked Lu Ye to help him hold it, just like he would.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye watched as Wen Zhi Mo took out a key and opened the box.
Instantly, a chest full of gleaming gold bars appeared before their eyes.
Bai Sheng's eyes immediately sparkled.
Wen Zhi Mo, seeing their astonished expressions, said proudly, "This is the profit sharing from the past few months. It's a total of seventeen thousand taels of silver. Plus, the remaining five thousand taels for that stone, making it a total of twenty-two thousand taels. I know that Sister Bai Sheng likes real gold and silver, not banknotes. So, I exchanged all the banknotes for silver, and for easier carrying, I converted the silver into gold."
Bai Sheng's smile stretched from ear to ear. She used her gold-touching hand, stood on tiptoe, and patted Wen Zhi Mo on the shoulder, "Brother Wen really understands me."
"Of course!" Wen Zhi Mo beamed proudly.
Lu Ye coughed lightly, and subtly took Bai Sheng's hand, the one that had patted Wen Zhi Mo's shoulder, and, without anyone noticing, wiped it with a handkerchief.
Lu Ye prepared to move the chest of gold bars to his and Bai Sheng's room.
Watching him easily lift the heavy chest, his arm muscles bulging like iron, Wen Zhi Mo was filled with envy.
Now, he was practicing martial arts with the bodyguard from the Sheng Men sect. Although he had made considerable progress, compared to Lu Ye, he was like the thinnest chicken leg among the weaklings, utterly useless.
He pinched his slightly slender arm, feeling for the first time that he was so unmanly.
Bai Sheng caught Wen Zhi Mo's subtle expression and, with a mischievous grin, nudged his arm with her elbow, whispering teasingly, "What do you think? Isn't my man handsome? Strong? Brother Wen, let me tell you, his chest muscles and abs are even more alluring. The moment I see them—"
"Oh, I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it!" Wen Zhi Mo's face turned crimson as he covered his ears with his hands. "Sister Bai Sheng, you are a woman, how can you say such lewd words directly in front of a man?"
"I only mentioned chest and abs, and that's lewd?" Bai Sheng put her hand to her forehead. If he experienced the lewd words of this era, who knew if he would be so stimulated that he'd faint on the spot.
Wen Zhi Mo quickly stepped a few paces away from Bai Sheng and lowered his voice, "Of course, they are lewd words. You are a woman, you should be reserved. You must never say such things in front of other men again."
Bai Sheng shrugged, "Sorry, Brother Wen, I've always considered you a good sister."
After saying that, she patted her big belly and walked out with a swagger that suggested she didn't care about anyone.
"Good... good sister?!" Wen Zhi Mo's mouth hung open.
He, a gentle and refined gentleman, though a bit slender, was still a genuine, bona fide young man. Sister Bai Sheng... she actually... actually called him a good sister?
After Bai Sheng left the room, Wen Zhi Mo pinched his arm again, then his hipbones, and a burning passion ignited within him. He, Wen Zhi Mo, would become strong, robust, and exude overflowing masculinity!
Now, he would immediately go out to practice lifting stones!
This morning, he had seen Lu Ye leading a group of strong men, young men, children, and women in the training ground, practicing martial arts and lifting stones. It was all very energetic.
Wen Zhi Mo rolled up his sleeves and strode towards the training ground with imposing momentum.
There were many large and small stones on the training ground. Wen Zhi Mo chose a smaller one.
But even the smaller one trembled as he lifted it. When his strength gave out, his hand loosened, and the stone almost hit his toes.
"Aowuu~"
A faint wolf howl came from behind him.
Wen Zhi Mo turned around. It was Bai Sheng's large white wolf, named Bao Yu, standing behind him, its head held high, looking at him.
Seeing the expression on the wolf's face, Wen Zhi Mo was astonished. Was this beast laughing?
And it was clearly mocking laughter.
Wen Zhi Mo wiped the sweat from his forehead, determined to regain his manly dignity and make this white-haired beast look at him with respect. He took a deep breath, walked to a larger stone, and then, hugging the stone with both hands, prepared for an overhead lift. However, an unexpected accident occurred: the stone didn't budge at all.
He glanced at the wolf and found it laughing again, its paw covering its eyes.
Wen Zhi Mo: ...