For the next two days, Qin Zhao had the rare opportunity to recuperate at home.
But he was not idle either. In the afternoon of that day, Qin Zhao picked up his pen and sat at his desk, not writing, but drawing on rice paper.
Jing Li poked his head out to look at him.
Qin Zhao wrote fluently, writing and drawing. Jing Li couldn't make out anything at first, but gradually, a rough sketch of a courtyard emerged on the drawing paper.
Jing Li: “…”
What else can't this person do
Farmhouses usually have a low fence around the yard, but the disadvantage is that it is not very airtight, and people can see what is going on in the yard from the outside. But if you build a brick and stone wall like the Chen family, the price will increase many times.
Qin Zhao took a compromise approach.
Walking upstream along the stream outside Linxi Village, there is a bamboo forest halfway up the mountain. Qin Zhao plans to hire someone to pick some bamboo. The bamboo is tall and can be used as a wall around the courtyard.
Beautiful and practical.
After the sealing problem is solved, there are two small rooms, one for bedroom and one for kitchen.
Farmers in the village hired people to repair their houses, but before repairing, they had to pay for the land according to the area occupied. Qin Zhao lived alone, so there was no need to build a large yard, but he still reserved enough space to build another house.
I’m short of money now, but maybe when conditions get better in the future I may be able to build another study room.
Finally, there is a pond built for the little koi.
Since he was going to do it, Qin Zhao didn't plan to make it too simple. At least the area should be large, the bottom of the water should be deep, and there should be running water. Digging a pool is not difficult, but the difficulty lies in how to drain the unpolluted running water and how to let the water flow out of the yard.
The thing that Linxi Village has the most is water. The only problem left is the site selection and the design of the underground ditch for water diversion.
Qin Zhao finished the sketch of the pond and saw that the little koi was looking at it attentively, so he asked, "How is it? Are you satisfied?"
Jing Li was already stunned, and upon hearing that, he immediately wagged his tail at him.
But Qin Zhao still seemed unsatisfied. He looked at it for a moment and then made some changes.
Hey, why do you want to change this place? He likes it very much!
The little koi fish slapped the barrel wall in protest.
Qin Zhao explained: "After simplifying it this way, less materials will be used."
Now these are just preliminary layouts and designs. If he wants to achieve his expectations, it will cost a lot of money.
Doctor Ge had previously told Qin Zhao about the prices offered by several clinics in the town, and they were mostly the same, with little room for price increase. If he did this, the money he earned from selling black ginseng would probably be all gone.
Qin Zhao didn't want to spend all his savings on building a house.
Jing Li understood what he meant and felt a little disappointed.
There's nothing we can do about it. Qin Zhao is good in every way except being a pauper.
What a pity.
It was a gloomy sky outside and the breeze made the windows creak.
Qin Zhao opened the window and looked at the sky outside, frowning unconsciously. Then he put away the blueprint and took out his coat from the closet.
Is he going out
Jing Li looked at him in the water.
Qin Zhao had just put on his clothes when he heard someone knocking on the door.
It’s Doctor Ge.
Doctor Ge walked into the room, smiling: "It's done, the next buyer has been decided!"
Qin Zhao welcomed the man in and poured him a glass of water.
Doctor Ge didn't even bother to drink the water. He said with great joy, "Didn't I tell you before that the prices offered by several clinics in this town are almost the same? Guess what? This morning, a wealthy family in this town suddenly came to our door and agreed to raise the price by 400 coins per plant of Wushan ginseng!"
The original estimated price was about 1,600 wen per plant, and after the price was increased by 400 wen, it became 2,000 wen.
Even Qin Zhao couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Two thousand coins, this is the price if it is sent to a big city for sale.
Doctor Ge was very excited and said, "They will send someone to collect the herbs the day after tomorrow. Qin Zhao, you have to go and collect them quickly."
Qin Zhao said: "I was just about to go out to collect herbs."
"Yes, we should hurry up and collect them." Doctor Ge said, "There will be a lot of rain around Qingming Festival, so it's not suitable to go up the mountain. The herbs are precious, and after a few days of wind and rain, I'm afraid half of them will be lost."
"I see."
After seeing off Doctor Ge, Qin Zhao said to the little koi, "Did you hear everything? I'm going up the mountain to collect herbs now. Wait for me at home."
The little koi wagged its tail obediently.
Qin Zhao thought for a moment, then took out two more egg pancakes from the stove, put them on a plate and brought them to the table: "If you're hungry, just eat something yourself."
Xiaoyu can even steal chicken legs to eat, so eating some bread for himself will definitely not be a problem.
Jing Li's eyes lit up when he saw the food, and Qin Zhao knocked him on the head: "But don't eat too much, or you'll get sick."
Got it!
Jing Li bit his finger lightly.
Qin Zhao raised his eyebrows and looked down at him. The man and the fish looked at each other for a moment, and the little koi, which had retreated, swam up timidly and rubbed the place where he was bitten with its fins.
Qin Zhao couldn't help laughing.
"I'm going to town to buy medicine tomorrow. I'll also buy some meat and make you braised pork."
Jing Li swallowed greedily and shook his tail in the water.
There is no sunshine today, and it will get dark earlier than usual. Qin Zhao did not delay any longer and quickly put on his backpack and left.
Jing Li listened quietly to the footsteps fading away, then jumped out of the water with a splash.
Three days have passed since the last time Jing Li transformed into a human. During these days, Jing Li's body occasionally experiences the same hot and scorching feeling as the day he transformed into a human.
But since Qin Zhao had been with him these days, every time that feeling arose, he would hide in the water to suppress it.
He always felt that the feeling had something to do with becoming a human.
Unfortunately, Qin Zhao had been with him these days, so he had no chance to try it.
I finally got the chance today.
Jing Li lay on the table, waiting quietly for a moment.
But that burning feeling never appeared.
Change quickly.
Jing Li patted his tail and fins, and even jumped on the ground for a long time, but there was still no response.
"Gurgle~"
The little koi paused and turned his gaze to the plate of omelets on the table.
Beng Teng is hungry.
After a moment, the little koi lay on its back on the water, its fins flapping gently on its round belly, and it let out a small burp.
Qin Zhao spoiled him these days and he always felt sleepy after eating.
Jing Li lay drowsy on the water, his body unknowingly becoming hot.
He woke up instantly and turned over in the water.
This time the feeling was even clearer, as if a warm current was emerging from his body, flowing through every part of his body. The temperature gradually rose and spread, and every fish scale began to glow red.
The light became increasingly dazzling. Jing Li sensed something and leaped out of the water and landed on the ground.
The moment it landed, the light suddenly faded.
A young man was kneeling on the ground, looking a little dazed.
Jing Li was the first to look down at his lower body.
This time, the part below the waist was no longer a fish tail, but a pair of legs. The legs were slender and well-proportioned, with extremely white skin, and some bright red fish scales attached to the texture. They were still wet, crystal clear, and almost transparent.
Jing Li moved his round toes, but didn't look happy. He realized something instantly.
He quickly raised his hand and touched his face.
The nose and eyes are still there, it's a normal human face.
… Fortunately.
Jing Li breathed a sigh of relief.
I was so worried that last time only the upper body appeared, and this time only the lower body would appear. That would be so scary.
Jing Li was still a little uncomfortable with becoming a human, so he moved his limbs and slowly stood up by supporting himself on the table.
The last time he transformed into a human, he didn't have time to see what he looked like now. Today he had a chance to take a look.
Jing Li walked barefoot on the ground, leaving water marks along the way.
In the entire house, only Qin Zhao's bedroom has a bronze mirror.
He walked to the bronze mirror, and the blurry mirror reflected the delicate and beautiful features of a young boy.
The boy had a pair of big, round, clear and moist eyes, with the ends of his eyes slightly curved upward, revealing a bit of innocence and cuteness. He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled gently, revealing a pair of shallow dimples.
He looks the same as before.
The difference is that there are also a few fish scales attached to the tail of his eyes.
The fish scales were cool and bright red, adding a touch of charm to the face.
Jing Li was not very satisfied with the scales. He touched them with his fingers and frowned.
I don’t know when I can change back.
Jing Li's hair was still wet, and after standing in front of the mirror for a while, a small puddle of water had formed on the ground. But it felt so good to be a human being that he didn't want to change back just yet.
Anyway, he often made the floor wet before, so Qin Zhao shouldn't be suspicious.
He took the handkerchief that Qin Zhao had placed beside him and used it to dry his hair. Suddenly, the window was blown open by a gust of wind.
Qin Zhao's house didn't even have a yard, and one could see the scene in the window directly from the roadside. Jing Li had no clothes to wear when he turned into a human form, and now he was standing naked in the house.
I can't let anyone see me like this.
Jing Li pulled the quilt over himself and staggered to close the window.
He walked to the window, looked around guiltily, and when he saw that there was no one around, he reached out and opened the window with confidence.
Just then, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky.
The sky is now darker than before, with dark clouds covering the sky, and it looks like it will rain at any time.
Boom!
A dull thunder then sounded, and Jing Li looked towards the sky worriedly.
Qin Zhao hasn't come back yet, I hope he won't encounter this rain.
The sickly child is in such poor health that if he gets caught in the rain again, he will definitely get a fever again.
Jing Li was thinking this in his mind when he heard another loud roar and heavy rain began to fall.
Jing Li: “…”
What you fear will come true
The rain in spring will not be too heavy, but it will drizzle for a long time and once it starts it will not stop.
Jing Li wrapped in a quilt and sat on Qin Zhao's bed, curling himself up into a small ball.
Why haven't you come back yet...
After the rain, the sky darkened quickly. Jing Li looked out the window at the sky that was getting darker and darker. He felt so uneasy for the first time.
The rain wasn't heavy, so even if we rushed back when we saw it was raining, we should be home by now.
I heard that it's easy for landslides to occur in the mountains when it rains. Will he... be in any danger
The more Jing Li thought about it, the more anxious he became. Finally, he could no longer sit still, so he threw back the quilt and got out of bed.
He opened the closet and pulled out a piece of Qin Zhao's clothes and put them on.
Clothes in ancient times were complicated to wear, and Qin Zhao was much taller than him, so the clothes didn't fit him at all. But Jing Li didn't care about that anymore. He tied a knot and tightened his belt, took the straw raincoat and hat by the stove, put them on, and climbed out of the house through the window.