Life in siheyuan era

Zhou Zhiyuan was eager to get home to conduct an experiment. What special abilities did the Greed Wolf Star in the star chart possess?

He entered the courtyard and arrived at his own door. Seeing the imposing bronze generals hanging on the two doors, he knew that his parents and Zhou Zhining were out.

He took out the key to let the bronze generals allow him passage, entered his room, and pulled the curtains slightly to conceal his figure. He then took out "Ancient Studies One" and reread it.

After Mo Youji's explanation, Zhou Zhiyuan had a preliminary impression of this "Ancient Studies One." Now, he needed to deepen his memory.

He placed it on the desk, stared at the pages, took a deep breath to dispel all distracting thoughts, and a star chart rose in his mind. Beneath a starry sky floated this "Ancient Studies One," drifting for a moment before disappearing without a trace.

The first experiment failed. Zhou Zhiyuan gently exhaled and reread "Ancient Studies One," his mind filled with jumping ink characters.

He visualized the ink characters in "Ancient Studies One," and then tried again. "Ancient Studies One" reappeared beneath the starry sky.

But it still drifted for a moment before disappearing. The second experiment failed.

Exiting the star chart, Zhou Zhiyuan carefully pondered the matter. Through the comparison of the two attempts, he found that the second appearance of "Ancient Studies One" was much clearer than the first, and the duration of its stay was also slightly longer.

This discovery filled him with confidence, and he conducted the third experiment again... After more than ten failures, this "Ancient Studies One" quietly floated under the starry sky.

It no longer drifted around, nor was it blurry. It was just there, realistically presented beneath the starry sky.

And Zhou Zhiyuan could also concentrate his mind to focus on the Greed Wolf Star. Immediately, an orange thread shot out, landing on this "Ancient Studies One." The pages turned, and rows of ink characters floated in the air, along with bronzes, steles, bamboo slips, chimes, seals... accompanying the ink characters as they danced in the air.

These objects were so real, a far cry from the blurriness of the illustrations in the book.

Mo Youji's painting skills were average. The illustrations accompanying the text were only for illustrative purposes and could not be considered exquisite.

But under the starry sky, these illustrations transformed into exquisite objects, presented one by one.

When the last line of ink characters slowly faded away and the last few objects slowly disappeared, there was silence under the starry sky.

Zhou Zhiyuan opened his eyes, raised his wrist, and looked at his watch. This successful experiment had lasted half an hour.

Confirming the time, Zhou Zhiyuan closed his eyes and carefully savored the experience. The rows of ink characters were so clear, and the exquisite objects were so real. He had memorized this "Ancient Studies One" without any errors, and understood many previously incomprehensible contents.

Achieving such an effect made Zhou Zhiyuan happy. He prepared to get up and move around before continuing the experiment, but as soon as he stood up, he felt a burst of dizziness and quickly reached out to support himself on the desk.

This feeling of exhaustion told him that he could not conduct a second experiment.

He took a deep breath and raised the star chart, concentrating his mind on the Greed Wolf Star. After a while, he saw an orange thread shoot out.

This orange thread entered his dantian, traveled through the Yaoshu, passed through the Fengfu and entered the Baihui, then went down through the Yintang and returned to the Tanzhong, disappearing into the star chart.

As the orange thread traveled, this feeling of exhaustion gradually disappeared. Zhou Zhiyuan opened his eyes and whispered to himself, "Small Heavenly Circuit."

In his dream, he had practiced Tai Chi and meditative exercises, and he knew the concept of the Small Heavenly Circuit. The path traveled by the orange thread was exactly the route of the Small Heavenly Circuit.

In his dream, he had failed to reach this realm, but now he had achieved it.

He took a deep breath and walked to the wall to move around. A dragon twist made him feel refreshed. He came to the table and was about to look at "Ancient Studies Two" when he saw Lin Shurong and Zhou Dehou walking into the courtyard one after another.

Seeing his parents' figures, Zhou Zhiyuan hurriedly greeted them, took the cloth bag from Zhou Dehou's hand, and asked in confusion, "Are we short of carrots and potatoes?"

"Silly boy..." Zhou Dehou smiled and said, "These are the only vegetables available in the market this season, and they're cheap, so I bought some. We can't do without carrots and potatoes all year round."

Zhou Zhiyuan nodded lightly and heard Lin Shurong say, "You should also learn how to manage a household. Don't be like your brother, who doesn't understand anything. It will be a problem when he gets married in the future."

Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be fine if my brother married a good wife?"

Hearing this, Lin Shurong snorted coldly, and Zhou Dehou replied, "It's certainly important to marry a good wife, but your brother can't be a hands-off shopkeeper either. In the new society, men and women are equal."

Zhou Dehou was good at talking, and he winked at Zhou Zhiyuan.

Zhou Zhiyuan immediately woke up and hurriedly said, "Yes, men and women are equal. We can't just let women do housework, men have to do it too."

He said this to please Lin Shurong, but he heard Lin Shurong sigh softly.

Then he saw Lin Shurong walking into the house, and Zhou Dehou also sighed softly, whispering, "Don't mention this matter again in the future, your brother is a problem."

Saying this, Zhou Dehou took the cloth bag from Zhou Zhiyuan's hand and walked towards the kitchen. Zhou Zhiyuan smiled wryly and shook his head.

The possibility of getting Zhou Zhining to stop being a hands-off shopkeeper was very slim. Zhou Dehou and Lin Shurong didn't think it was possible.

And Zhou Zhiyuan didn't have confidence either. He returned to his room and opened "Ancient Studies Two," and saw Zhou Zhining pushing a brand new bicycle into the courtyard, parking it in front of his parents' house and walking inside.

As Zhou Zhining just reached the door, a plump figure walked in. Silly Zhu rushed out of the house and shouted, "Sister Qin, what's the situation?"

Silly Zhu's shout made Qin Huairu look over here in panic, and Zhou Zhining turned his head and glared at Silly Zhu.

But from Zhou Zining's immediate entry into his parents' room, it was clear that he was trying to divert attention.

Qin Huairu, however, whispered with Sha Zhu, cooperating perfectly.

After talking for a while, Sha Zhu's face showed joy, and he shouted towards Zhou Zhiyuan's room, "Zhiyuan, I need to discuss something."

Hearing Sha Zhu's shout, he couldn't pretend not to hear. He got up and walked out of the room, coming to Sha Zhu's side and asking in a low voice, "Brother Zhu, what's the matter?"

Sha Zhu, with a smile on his face, replied, "Your Sister Qin's cousin, Qin Jingru, has agreed to meet me. She's coming to the city next Sunday. Where do you think would be a good place to meet?"

Hearing him ask for his opinion, Zhou Zhiyuan turned to look at Qin Huairu, seeing her with a dignified smile. He muttered to himself, "Does Sister-in-law smile like that at her brother-in-law?"

Then he turned to look at Sha Zhu and replied in a low voice, "Two suggestions: First, don't publicize it widely. Everyone knowing about this won't help your matchmaking at all. If there's no benefit, it might even cause harm."

"Second, on the day of the meeting, it's best to arrange it in a place that Qin Jie's cousin has never been to, such as a better restaurant. Don't have more than four people on site. Qin Jie and her cousin on that side, and you can bring your sister at most."

Sha Zhu nodded repeatedly as he gave his two suggestions.

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Huairu asked lightly, "Has your mother finished tailoring the clothes?"

Zhou Zhiyuan replied, "My mom has finished cutting them. I'll send them to you later. Don't worry, just finish one set by the night after tomorrow."

Qin Huairu immediately said, "No need for you to send them. I'll go find your mother." Then she turned and walked towards Lin Shurong's room.

Zhou Zhiyuan moved his lips slightly but remained silent. Qin Huairu was good at seizing opportunities and would never miss any chance to get close to Lin Shurong, and he had no reason to stop her.

Her words and actions made Zhou Zhiyuan feel passive again. While he was pondering, he heard Sha Zhu say softly, "I also want to make a new set of clothes to wear on the matchmaking day."

Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Just tell my mom directly. If I pass on the message, it'll seem like you're not sincere."

"That's right, I'll talk to Master Lin directly." Sha Zhu gladly accepted his suggestion.

After they finished talking, Zhou Zhiyuan waved his hand and walked back to his room. Returning to his room, he opened "Gujiu Er" and read it carefully, looking up when he heard a knock on the door.

Zhou Zining walked in with a serious face and asked in a deep voice, "Why give money?"

Zhou Zhiyuan replied solemnly, "Sister Qin is living with a mother-in-law and three children, so life is not easy. I can't help with big things, so I'm indirectly helping her in this way."

What he said reminded Zhou Zining that Qin Huairu had a heavy burden, and they didn't have the ability to take on that burden for her.

Zhou Zining didn't speak but walked to the seat inside the desk, pondered for a moment, and said, "Someone introduced me to a partner last year, but it fell through in less than three months."

"The reason is simple: the two of us couldn't talk. I talked about calligraphy and painting, and she wasn't interested. She talked about the things at work, and I wasn't interested."

"Find someone who studies art," Zhou Zhiyuan suggested.

Zhou Zining replied faintly, "She was studying art, but she was very puzzled by my willingness to be a fitter. Every time we met, she would try to persuade me to have a good relationship with the leaders and strive to be transferred to the factory office, using my calligraphy and painting skills to win the leaders' favor and work hard to climb up."

Speaking of this, Zhou Zining paused, pondered for a while, and continued, "For her, calligraphy and painting were just a means to climb up. Being with her made me feel very tired, and she also felt that I was a hopeless case, so it fell through."

Zhou Zining explained the cause and effect of his relationship with his previous partner, but Zhou Zhiyuan had nothing to say.

His brother had this personality. Asking him to win the leaders' favor was something he wouldn't do and didn't want to do.

Seeing that Zhou Zhiyuan didn't speak, Zhou Zining asked, "Shouldn't dating be happy?"

"Yes..." Zhou Zhiyuan agreed and reminded him at the same time, "If you're just dating and not getting married, you don't need to consider so much."

Zhou Zining replied solemnly, "Just dating and not getting married is being a hooligan."

"Heh..." Zhou Zhiyuan laughed.

Zhou Zining also laughed and then said, "You reminded me, and I will consider it carefully."

Zhou Zhiyuan laughed again and turned to look out the window, seeing Qin Huairu holding a stack of cloth and walking out of his parents' house. Her light footsteps showed a happy mood.

Looking at her back, Zhou Zhiyuan knew he had made a mistake. Qin Huairu didn't fall into his trap but became close to Lin Shurong again.

But this was a helpless thing. Qin Huairu's diligence was what he needed, and her skills were also what he needed.

He didn't want Lin Shurong to suffer the torment of pain in her later years, so he had to use Qin Huairu's diligence and skills.

Qin Huairu also understood his predicament and fully displayed her strengths, putting him in a passive state.

Thinking of this situation, Zhou Zhiyuan had a headache and decided to continue planning.

But Zhou Zining understood him and said in a deep voice, "Tell me what you're thinking. Don't go after Qin Huairu. I know what's going on."

This was clearly protecting Qin Huairu. If he played tricks on Qin Huairu again, it would be disrespecting Zhou Zining.