My Gang of Swordsmen-Chapter 55 - 39: Call Him "Nobi Tachibana Aoto Nobita" (Part 2)
If you want to build a strong physique, sufficient protein is essential.
Speaking of which ingredient is the richest in protein... well, naturally, it’s meat.
However... meat in this era is not just expensive, it’s incredibly expensive...
In this era, regardless of men or women, people are generally not tall.
The reason for this, aside from genetic issues, is mainly due to dietary problems.
Japan is a country deeply influenced by Buddhist culture.
Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the mid-6th century, and with its strong vitality, it quickly integrated with Japan’s native culture and began influencing all aspects of people’s lives.
In 675 AD, Emperor Tenmu, deeply influenced by Buddhist culture, for various reasons, issued a "meat ban," prohibiting people from consuming animal meat.
This "meat ban" completely changed the dietary habits of ancient Japanese people.
Shortly after the samurai began to gain power during the Shogunate era, the "meat ban" became essentially ineffective, but the practice of not eating meat continued to be passed down, lasting until the present Edo Era.
The Edo Shogunate did not prohibit people from eating meat.
However, because the thought of "not eating meat" is deeply ingrained in people’s minds, even now, people don’t eat much meat, and the only meat consumed on regular days is seafood.
Pork, beef, venison, and other types of meat are sold in the market but are all prohibitively expensive.
Given Aoto’s current financial situation, he naturally cannot afford such expensive meat.
Since he can’t afford meat, he has to settle for something else.
There is a type of ingredient whose protein content is rich and rivals that of meat.
That would be legumes, especially soybeans.
Soybeans contain about 30% to 40% protein, are rich in nutrients, and are not expensive, even a family like Aoto’s can afford them.
Therefore, last night Aoto specifically told Kyūbē: Starting tomorrow, add more legumes, mainly soybeans and yellow soybeans, to their daily meals.
Kyūbē doesn’t seem very good at legume-related cooking; the soybean soup he made, although not terrible, is far from being tasty.
But Aoto is not particularly picky when it comes to food; as long as it’s edible, he doesn’t complain,
quickly finished today’s dinner in a few bites and then took a short rest before taking off his clothes to start his workout.
In his previous life, as a fitness enthusiast with a big muscular body, he naturally maxed out his skills related to fitness!
Every fitness lover knows — those fancy gym equipment are, in fact, just the icing on the cake.
If you truly want to train your body, even in a narrow cell without any fitness equipment, equipped only with simple furniture, you can still sculpt your body.
Since he needs to work at the Magistrate’s Office during the day, Aoto’s plan is to allocate at least half an hour every night for body training.
Even in this Edo Era with no modern fitness equipment, he has full confidence in becoming the muscular figure he was in his previous life!
Squats, push-ups, sit-ups... even without equipment, there are still countless workout methods available.
"Young Master, what are you doing again?" Kyūbē watched Aoto, who was practicing pull-ups by grabbing the door frame, and blinked a few times in confusion.
Kyūbē felt the young master’s behavior had been odd these past few days, suddenly full of strange actions.
The night before last, he was lying on the floor, pounding the tatami repeatedly. (Push-ups)
And now, he’s grabbing the door frame and pounding the ceiling repeatedly... (Pull-ups)
"Hmm? This is just like the push-ups I practiced the night before, a method a friend of mine recommended to effectively train the body."
"I have a friend" is indeed a very useful excuse.
The simple-minded Kyūbē wasn’t the type to overthink or dig too deep.
This diligent old ox simply inquired about what Aoto was doing and then stopped asking questions, silently assisting his young master with a series of logistical tasks, handing him towels and water as he sweated profusely through his workout.
After training his body for nearly an hour, Aoto went into their courtyard to practice swordsmanship for a bit.
In this era, entertainment activities are scarce, and besides fitness and sword training, Aoto had nothing else to do at night.
Once his arm, leg, back, chest, and other muscles started to feel sore, indicating it was not suitable to continue, Aoto excitedly called for Kyūbē to prepare water for a wash, intending to go to bed right after cleaning up.
For Aoto, his biggest achievement today was not the triumphant solving of a case on the first day of work that greatly reversed his previously terrible reputation.
It was copying an incredibly useful-sounding talent from that Jinzāburō: Sleep God!
His sleep quality is far superior to others, he falls asleep easily, and has a hard time staying awake, needing much less sleep time than normal... isn’t this one of the skills Aoto most longed for in his past life?
In his past life, Aoto wasn’t particularly passionate about Japan’s two-dimensional culture.
The only Japanese animation he watched was "Doraemon".
While watching "Doraemon", Aoto was always envious of Nobi Xiong.
Because Nobi Xiong had a divine skill to fall asleep within 0.96 seconds.
When he was young, he didn’t think this skill was anything special.
Not until he grew up, unable to be care-free like when he was a child, often staying up all night tangled in trivial matters, did Aoto realize how amazing Nobi Xiong’s "quick sleep" skill was.
In the high-pressure modern society, having the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly anytime and anywhere is a kind of happiness.
Since copying over this talent, Aoto had been looking forward to the arrival of night the entire day.
He was eager to test the effectiveness of this talent.
After quickly wiping down his sweaty body, changing into pajamas, and crawling under the covers, Aoto turned his head to look out the window at the night sky to estimate the time by the darkness.
——It’s now... around 10 PM.
Aoto closed his eyes and adjusted his sleeping position to make it more comfortable.
——According to the system’s introduction, one of the effects of this "Sleep God" is to make me fall asleep much easier than ordinary people.
——Hmm... I wonder if it could make me fall asleep in under 1 second like Nobi Xiong?
——Well, it’s probably... not... possible...
...
...
...
...
Whoosh!
Aoto suddenly threw off the blanket covering him, with a look of slight terror in his eyes.
——I actually fell asleep...?!
He raised his hand to touch his face.
——When did I fall asleep...?!
He couldn’t remember when he fell asleep at all.
He only remembered curling up under the blanket and then unknowingly slipping into slumber...
Aoto quickly turned his head to look out the window at the night.
Now... it’s at most just 1 AM.
After checking the current time, Aoto lifted his hand, massaging his arms, legs, and other muscles.
Aoto now feels... supercharged!
His mind was extremely clear, his spirits were high, and it seemed every pore was relaxed.
The soreness of the muscles he had worked out the previous night was almost gone!
After glancing at the night sky that had just passed 2 AM and then lowering his head to look at his own body, Aoto remained speechless for a long time due to extreme shock.
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Updated nearly 8000 words today! Very considerate!
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