Chapter 355: Meeting Brother Qiang Again
The next morning, Sun Shan's good pen pal and friend He Shuqiang came to look for Sun Shan.
This was the second time that Su had seen the legendary official's son. She entertained He Shuqiang very warmly and said that Sun Shan would stay at the He family for a few days and that she would come to visit Sun Shan often.
He Shuqiang said with a big smile: "Aunt, I just came here to play with Brother Shan. I haven't seen him for a long time."
Su looked at He Shuqiang with satisfaction. The little fat boy in front of her had exactly the body shape she liked the most. It would be great if she could share a few dozen kilograms of fat with Sun Shan. She said cheerfully, "Brother Qiang, Shanzi is practicing calligraphy in the study. I'll call him out."
He Shuqiang quickly said that it was not necessary and he could go in to find Sun Shan by himself.
Before he even reached the door of the study, he called out, "Brother Shan, I'm here to play with you."
Hearing the voice before seeing the person, Sun Shan gave the pen and ink to Gui Ge'er and asked him to help clean up.
When I walked out of the study, I saw He Shuqiang, whom I hadn’t seen for several years.
He was stunned for a moment, rubbed his eyes, and said with wide eyes: "Brother Qiang, why are you fat again? Didn't you say you wanted to lose weight?"
Sun Shan remembered that after he passed the examination for a scholar, he came to Guangzhou Prefecture to take the examination for the Academy. He also kindly advised Mrs. He and arranged for He Shuqiang to lose weight.
How come after not seeing him for three years, He Shuqiang not only didn't lose weight, but he became much fatter than before, and of course much taller.
He Shuqiang stood in front of Sun Shan. He was a head taller than Sun Shan and his body was three to four times the size of Sun Shan.
He Shuqiang's face fell, and he said dejectedly, "Hey, Brother Shan, don't mention it. I can't lose weight no matter what I do."
Sun Shan didn't believe it. There is no weight that cannot be lost in this world, only weight loss that is not ruthless enough.
Sun Shan patted He Shuqiang's big fat hands, and then patted his big belly. Despite his young age, his belly was even bigger than Hong Dalang's. It was really disgusting to look at.
He Shuqiang said distressedly: "I tried to lose weight before, but I turned pale, had panic attacks and sweated, and finally fainted. My mother saw that I was suffering so much, so she told me to stop losing weight. But once I stopped, I ate more and more, and my weight kept increasing. Hey, Brother Shan, I am destined not to lose weight. My grandfather and father are both fat men, and I will follow in their footsteps."
Sun Shan suggested: "Brother Qiang, go see a doctor and ask him to help you lose weight. Oh, you can't go on like this. You are too fat and it's not good for your health."
Sun Shan didn't want to say anything, but he couldn't stand it. He Shuqiang was getting tall and fat, with a burly build. Sun Shan was very worried about his health.
He Shuqiang shook his head and said, "My mother asked a doctor to see me, and he just suggested that I eat less and exercise more. Eating less is impossible, but exercising more is okay. I play Cuju every day, but I can't run fast. No one plays with me, so I can only play by myself."
Sun Shan was embarrassed. How come Brother Qiang was in a similar situation to him?
No one would play Cuju with him, so he would sneak onto the court and play by himself.
From this perspective, he and Qiang Ge'er share the same suffering, just for different reasons, and in the end they end up in the same place.
He Shuqiang talked endlessly about his troubles in study and life.
Facing Sun Shan, he said enviously: "Brother Shan, you are lucky. You are already a scholar. Alas, I still have to go to the examination room to take the exam. Every time I think about staying in the examination room for three days and stinking all over, I feel so miserable. Alas, I am too stupid and can't pass the college examination."
He Shuqiang had passed the prefectural examination and became a student, but he failed the academy examination and was still struggling to become a scholar.
He Shuqiang didn't need Sun Shan to answer and continued, "I thought I did well in the last college entrance examination, but who knew I wouldn't pass. Sigh, I don't have the confidence to take the exam again. The examination room was too narrow, I couldn't even stretch my legs straight when I sat there, and I couldn't sleep well. Forget all that.
The most uncomfortable thing was the food. It was not even as bad as pig food. I didn’t want to eat, but I was hungry. I had no choice but to hold my nose and swallow it. My mother said that I had lost 10 pounds after the exam.
Sun Shan looked at He Shuqiang with sympathy. With his body shape, it was indeed very painful for him to be in the examination room.
However, when he heard that he could lose 10 kilograms by taking the exam, Sun Shan felt it was worth it.
He encouraged her and said, "Brother Qiang, don't be discouraged. You will definitely make the list next time. Even if you don't make the list, you won't suffer any loss. You can lose weight by entering the exam, which is very rare. You must enter the exam, understand?"
He Shuqiang rolled his eyes, thinking that Sun Shan's words were rude and he didn't want to listen.
But Sun Shan was his savior, so he could just tell what his benefactor said.
Although they met seldom in recent years, they kept in touch.
He Shuqiang felt that he and Sun Shan had a deep relationship and they could talk about any topic without restraint.
He Shuqiang said enviously, "Brother Shan, Brother Jin passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, how amazing. Oh, I wonder if I will have the chance to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination. Brother Shan, I believe you will definitely have a chance. You are smarter than me, and you passed the examination to become a Xiucai at such a young age, and it will be just around the corner for you to become a Juren."
He Shuqiang thought that Sun Shan would come to take the provincial examination last year, and he waited and waited. In the end, Sun Shan wrote to say that he would not take the exam. He Shuqiang felt a little regretful.
He believed that if Sun Shan entered the examination hall, he would definitely pass.
If Sun Shan knew what He Shuqiang was thinking, he would definitely say thank you.
Because his confidence in himself was even less than He Shuqiang's confidence in him, Sun Shan didn't know how outstanding he was.
He Shuqiang has days off today and tomorrow, so he can hang out with Sun Shan.
After lunch, they went for a stroll in Hejia Village.
As for going somewhere far away, Sun Shan and He Shuqiang wanted to go, but the traitor Gui Ge'er told Su and Sun Boming that they were planning to go out, and the couple immediately stopped them.
They thought that there were many bad people in Guangzhou Prefecture, and they were afraid that Sun Shan and He Shuqiang would be kidnapped.
Sun Shan looked at his own figure and then at He Shuqiang's figure. He felt that the beggar was just a beggar, not a blind man, and he would not be blind to kidnap them.
Su also said that even if he was not kidnapped, he would be cheated by others. What he feared most was being deceived into doing hard labor in a mine, which would be like crying out to heaven and earth for help but no one would be able to help him.
Su heard from Aunt Sun and Xiaoxue that the foreigners at the dock liked to trick children into getting on the boat, take them out to sea, and then slowly cook them.
Especially because Qiang Ge'er has a lot of meat, Fan Gui Lao likes it the most. Su Shi didn't want Sun Shan to be implicated by Qiang Ge'er, so when Gui Ge'er came to report, he quickly stopped the two of them from leaving Hejia Village.
Sun Shan and He Shuqiang looked at each other, and both saw the other's helplessness.
He turned his head and glared at Gui Ge'er.
Brother Gui shrank back and said tremblingly, "Brother Shan, Brother Qiang, I didn't mean it. I just went to tell Uncle Min and Auntie that you were going out. I didn't expect them not to let you go out."
Gui Ge'er was really wronged. He was just listening to Sun Boming and had to inform Sun Shan wherever he went.
Who knew that Uncle Min would come in a hurry and not allow Sun Shan and He Shuqiang to go out.
Gui Ge'er looked really innocent, but Sun Shan and He Shuqiang said he was pretending to be innocent.
Sun Shan and He Shuqiang originally wanted to walk around the dock and look for some fresh goods.
Now he died before he could accomplish his mission.
They are all good and filial children. Since their parents don't allow them to go, they have no choice but to choose not to go.
The two of them had no choice but to wander around Hejia Village.
Following behind them were still Gui Ge'er and He Shuqiang's servant and boy.