Chapter 2384: Youthful Appearance
Chapter 2384: Chapter 2384: Youthful Appearance
Shu Quan was the first to enter the door, followed by Shu Zhao and a man who was holding a child in his arms.
Upon seeing the man’s appearance, Shu Yu didn’t have time to ask before hearing Aunt Fang beside him express her surprise, “You, you are Gu Xinghua??”
Gu Xinghua, holding the child, nodded, and Aunt Fang gasped, sizing him up, “Where’s your beard? You actually look like this? Aren’t you almost thirty? How come you’re still so…” young.
He looks as young as a teenager not yet twenty.
Gu Xinghua smiled sheepishly, “I shaved my beard.”
He explained, “I’ve always looked like this; I just appear young. When I was exiled to the southwest, it was just my mother and my young sister with me. If I didn’t look mature, I wouldn’t have been able to protect them.”
Later, after he got married, he shaved off his beard. But his wife said he was too handsome, attracting unwanted attention, so he grew it back.
Aunt Fang was stunned but nodded in response, understanding it was indeed like that.
When Gu Xinghua arrived at Righteous Dao Village, his sister was only about ten years old, and the Gu Family mother was frail and sickly. If Gu Xinghua looked easy to bully too, life in Righteous Dao Village would have been tough.
“If you’d shaved your beard earlier, you might have married sooner.”
Gu Xinghua glanced at Shu Zhao beside him, “It’s the same now.”
Aunt Fang thought it made sense; Shu Zhao wasn’t very old.
Shu Yu had already looked away; Gu Xinghua’s appearance was quite good, so he had passed this check.
“I heard you learned to read with Miss Four?”
Facing Shu Yu, Gu Xinghua was a bit nervous. Shu Quan urged him forward, and he quickly stepped up, nodding repeatedly, “Yes, I’ve been studying these past two years. Azhao said even in exile, it’s beneficial to be literate.”
Shu Yu then turned his gaze to Miss Four and was slightly surprised.
The Miss Four now was completely different from the sharp, aloof figure from years ago. Currently, Shu Zhao had lost her edge, with an expression that could be described as serene.
After a brief look, he picked up a book and handed it to Gu Xinghua.
“Read a passage for me.”
Gu Xinghua carefully placed the child in Shu Zhao’s arms before stepping forward to take the book, opening it with great care.
When he spoke, his voice was a bit rough, perhaps matching his bearded appearance.
But when reading, he used a different voice. Shu Yu pondered, after he finished reading a passage, and asked, “If I hire you, can you use this voice when speaking to clients? You mustn’t deliberately roughen your voice.”
Gu Xinghua immediately nodded, “I can.”
Shu Yu asked a few more questions. Because the other was the Shu family’s son-in-law, everyone present could clearly feel that he was stricter in recruiting Gu Xinghua than others.
Shu Quan became anxious, especially since there were a few instances where Gu Xinghua’s answers were somewhat inappropriate, sparking an urge to step in and interrupt him.
After Shu Yu finished his questions, he didn’t say on the spot whether or not to hire him, instead saying, “Alright, I understand your situation. I’ll consider it and get back to you later.”
Shu Quan’s mouth twitched; wasn’t this answer a polite rejection?
But he knew when to stop, even though he wanted to plead further, ultimately leading them to the door.