With Old Zhang along, Shen Shixu and the others ate until their bellies were round throughout the journey. Xiao Jinyi and Song Zhuoyang took turns hunting game, cleaning their catches before handing them over to Old Zhang.
Uncle Zhang then got to work cooking: pheasant stewed with mushrooms, roast rabbit, fish soup...
They ate even better than they had in the Capital. Shen Zexi, who waited at the city gates, had meant to tell Shen Shixu, "You worked so hard you've lost weight," but now he couldn't bring himself to say it.
When Shen Shixu saw that Shen Zexi had actually come to wait for them, he rushed up and threw his arms around him. "Brother, didn't I tell you in my letter that you didn't need to come meet us? Why did you come anyway?"
Although Shen Shixu had told Shen Zexi not to come meet him in his letter, he was still delighted that his brother had come.
After being his older brother for so many years, how could Shen Zexi not understand him? Seeing how happy he was, he pinched his cheek and said, "I thought you'd come back worn thin after traveling all that way on official business. Who knew you'd actually put on weight?"
Hearing this, Shen Shixu cupped his chin in delighted surprise. "Have I really put on weight? I thought I'd gained quite a bit on the road, too. There was nothing to worry about, and all we did was eat and sleep.
"If I hadn't gained weight after all that, I'd have let down Old Zhang and all the effort he put into feeding us."
It wasn't just Shen Shixu who had gained weight. Xiao Jinyi and the others had filled out a little, too. But Xiao Jinyi practiced his martial arts