Fang Er copied Cheng Chumo's movements from the side and quickly mastered about seventy to eighty percent.
It was such a simple movement, and with someone teaching him, not being able to learn it would make him a complete idiot.
Seeing that Fang Er had learned it, Cheng Chumo stood up and pointed out his shortcomings.
Fang Er slowly perfected his posture.
One minute.
Two minutes.
After five minutes.
Fine sweat broke out on Fang Er's forehead.
He felt his legs go soft and weak, the muscles in his thighs trembling, and the sweat trickled down more and more.
After holding on for about seven to eight minutes, Fang Er could no longer support himself and collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
"Damn! My legs are killing me!"
Fang Er said, rubbing his legs.
"Hahaha, Brother Fang, this is your first time, and you lasted this long, which is already very good. If you practice consistently in the future, you'll become more enduring over time."
Cheng Chumo looked at Fang Er's disheveled state and praised him.
"Enduring, my ass. I was already enduring."
Cheng Chumo's words left Fang Er speechless.
He didn't want to talk now; he just wanted to recover.
His calves kept twitching, his knees felt weak and unsteady, and this was more tiring than running five kilometers.
Seeing his young master in this state, Xiao Qing quickly brought over a chair and helped Fang Er sit down.
Then, two newly bought maids, with remarkable foresight, went up to rub Fang Er's legs and shoulders.
Feeling the four small hands kneading him, Fang Er felt himself sinking into decadence.
"Say, Brother Chumo, don't you have any shortcuts? This kind of training is too much of a torment!"
Fang Er enjoyed the maids' service, tilted his head, and looked at Cheng Chumo, who had also moved a chair to sit down.
"Brother Fang, martial arts cultivation requires diligent study and arduous practice. There are no shortcuts."
Cheng Chumo shrugged and made a helpless expression.
Looking at Fang Er's current treatment, he was a bit envious.
Back in the day, his own father would whip him into training, and he never enjoyed such service from maids.
Although his family's conditions were considered good, his father guarded him like a thief, just not allowing him to be too intimate with the maids.
His father's reasoning was: "One must endure hardship to achieve greatness."
Now, it seemed that he, Young Master Cheng, was only the first half of that saying, while Fang Er was the latter part!
Fang Er remained slumped for nearly half an hour before he recovered.
Wei Chi Baolin looked at Fang Er with a sly grin, "Brother Fang, you've rested, haven't you? Let's continue!"
"Go to hell with your 'continue.' Let's go and check out the shops. I need to figure out the renovation."
Fang Er directly found an excuse and bailed.
The two of them had no disagreements.
Since their own shops were now invested, it was better to open the business as soon as possible.
The three of them, accompanied by a group of servants and lackeys, walked down the street. Those who saw their procession quickly made way.
Fang Er felt that he was not far from becoming a dissolute young master.
These two guys, when walking on the street, always looked for trouble. Their eyes seemed to say, "If anyone dares to disobey, we'll deal with them directly."
Damn! Second-generation officials, indeed, are always impressive, no matter the era.
The group, in a mighty procession, arrived at the intersection of Zhuque Street and Tonghua Street.
"Brother Fang, these are the two shops. Seventh, open the door."
Cheng Chumo pointed to the two shops at the street corner, spoke to Fang Er, and then had his servants go to open the doors.
A stout man, about thirty years old, emerged from behind him, took a key from his waist, and stepped forward to open the door.
Zhuque Street was a main road directly facing the imperial palace.
Tonghua Street was only two blocks away from the imperial palace.
It had to be said that this location was probably impossible to buy even with money.
Fang Er entered the shop and looked around.
This shop was likely a former restaurant. The first floor had over ten tables, the second and third floors had private rooms, and in the backyard, wow, the entire courtyard was at least three to four hundred square meters. Additionally, there were the kitchen, storage rooms, woodsheds, and other similar rooms.
Moving to the other side, Wei Chi's family shop was almost the same size as Cheng's family shop. However, Wei Chi's shop looked like it had been an inn before. After inspecting it, Fang Er had a good idea of its layout.
"Huzi, go find paper and charcoal sticks."
Sitting on the first floor of the Cheng family's shop, Fang Er already had a rough idea of the restaurant's layout in his mind.
He had seen all sorts of restaurant layouts in his previous life.
As a level-eight fitter, he had often been invited by private enterprises to earn extra income.
When Huzi brought the paper and spread it on the table, he handed Fang Er a charcoal stick with one end sharpened.
As Fang Er's personal attendant, he knew that his young master disliked using brushes and always preferred using these sharpened charcoal sticks for writing and drawing.
Fang Er had no choice. The last time he refreshed his inventory so ruthlessly, he didn't get any stationery. After using the charcoal sticks, his hands were always smudged black, which was a pain.
He would have to refresh a few more times when he got home; it was uncomfortable not having the right tools.
Watching Fang Er writing and drawing on the paper, Cheng Chumo and Wei Chi Baolin felt awkward. The two martial men couldn't understand what Fang Er was drawing at all.
After drawing for a while, Fang Er looked up and slapped his forehead, saying, "Huzi, send someone home to call Niu Liang and the other two."
Huzi quickly went down to instruct the accompanying servants.
It took about an hour for Niu Liang and the others to arrive.
"Young Master, what are your orders?"
Niu Liang and the other two stood beside Fang Er and asked in a low voice.
They were afraid of disturbing their young master's drawing.
Fang Er directly put down the charcoal stick in his hand, stood up, and said to the three, "Follow me."
He directly led them to the backyard.
Pointing to the courtyard wall between the two shops, he said, "Smash this wall."
He then pointed to those rooms, "Demolish all the rooms in the two courtyards and rebuild them. I'll give you the blueprints later."
The three of them looked at the places Fang Er pointed to and nodded repeatedly.
Afterward, they returned to the shops in front. Fang Er pointed to the second and third floors and said, "Knock down both shops, and also demolish all the private rooms upstairs. Only keep the floors and pillars. Similarly, once you're done, come to me for the blueprints."
Niu Liang looked at his young master in surprise, "Young Master, if everything is demolished and rebuilt, it will probably take one to two months."
"Hire more people, pay them more, and get it done in half a month. Any problem?"
"Nonsense, two months? That's too long. This is different from doing it myself. I've roped in two powerful allies, so it must be done as soon as possible. The sooner I make money, the sooner I can show these allies my capabilities."
"Yes, Young Master! Your subordinate understands."
Since Young Master had said so, Niu Liang could only accept the order.
"Brothers Chumo and Baolin, the arrangements here are almost done. Let's go home and have a drink!"
After instructing Niu Liang, Fang Er said to Cheng Chumo and Wei Chi Baolin, who had been following him.