Qin Zhao went to Li Dali's house to pick up a few bags of vegetable seeds, and then returned home.
The little koi was bored at home and had already fallen asleep waiting. The little fish's tiny body floated in the water, and its tail and fins swayed gently from time to time, creating shallow ripples on the water surface.
Qin Zhao walked lightly to the table and sat down.
When he first rescued the little guy, Qin Zhao originally wanted to send it back to nature after its injuries healed. But after he found that the little fish could understand him and had no intention of leaving, he gave up the idea of letting the little guy go.
People have been lonely for too long and always hope to have someone to accompany them.
Even if it's just a fish.
Qin Zhao believed that all things have spirits, but he did not believe in supernatural powers.
Just like hunters like to keep dogs and wealthy people in the city like to keep parrots, it is not uncommon for some animals to be intelligent, understand human language, and communicate with humans.
He had the same idea towards the little fish.
Therefore, during the past few days of getting along with him, he just thought that this little guy was spiritual, but never thought of it as weird or supernatural.
But what happened last night forced him to make such a guess.
If there was more evidence...
Qin Zhao's eyes searched the room for a moment and fell on the straw raincoat and bamboo hat next to the low cabinet.
Due to physical reasons, Qin Zhao seldom goes out on rainy days, so he has not used this raincoat very many times.
Last night I was in a hurry to go out and accidentally forgot to bring it with me.
The raincoat was still lying there as before, its surface was dry and there was nothing to be seen.
Qin Zhao walked forward and lightly brushed his fingertips across the surface.
His eyes moved slightly.
He thought for a moment, walked to the wooden tub full of laundry, and took out the wet clothes on the surface.
Qin Zhao lifted up the clothes and searched carefully inch by inch, and finally found what he was looking for.
—A small piece of dry straw.
The material is the same as that of the straw raincoat.
All doubts were resolved at this moment, and Qin Zhao felt as if a huge rock had fallen from his heart.
The young man I saw yesterday when I was half asleep and half awake, the clothes hidden by Xiaoyu, and the straw raincoat that had not been used for a long time but was spotless on the surface.
The answer has been found now.
The strange thing is that after guessing the truth, Qin Zhao did not feel any surprise or fear.
More importantly... I think it's quite interesting.
It seemed like he had rescued a little monster by accident.
Qin Zhao heard the sound of water behind him and turned around. The little koi fish wagged its tail and came to the wooden barrel.
He stared at Qin Zhao, and when his eyes fell on the clothes in Qin Zhao's hand, his body visibly tensed up.
Qin Zhao noticed his reaction, put down his clothes naturally, and walked to the table: "Finally woke up, I was just about to go to the stream to wash clothes."
Just doing some laundry
Jing Li looked at him doubtfully, and was relieved when he saw that the latter did not show any abnormality.
He wagged his tail, splashing some water.
Qin Zhao understood what he meant and asked, "Do you want to go together?"
Jing Li nodded repeatedly.
He didn't want to stay at home alone at all, it was too boring.
Qin Zhao fell silent.
Take him there!
The little koi fish waved its fins and looked at him pitifully. Seeing that he still didn't respond, it flicked its tail, jumped up and kissed his fingertips.
This action might not have seemed like a big deal in the past, but it felt different today.
Qin Zhao withdrew his hand, only to feel the small area that had been touched by the other party was itchy and extremely uncomfortable.
Jing Li looked up at him, somewhat confused.
Is Qin Zhao having a fever again? Why do his ears look red
Qin Zhao felt a little embarrassed by the little koi's gaze, so he looked away and said, "Okay, I'll take you there."
The sun had not yet set, and Qin Zhao, holding a wash basin and a small fish basket, came to the stream in the village where clothes were washed.
The people in Linxi Village use water from the same stream for washing clothes and cooking, so there is a specific time and place for washing clothes in the village. Over time, the villagers know not to drink the stream water when washing clothes.
Similarly, once it is time to cook, there will be someone upstream to remind you.
It was already a little late when Qin Zhao arrived, and there were only three or four women left on the river beach.
Washing clothes has always been a woman's job, and there is no rule in the small mountain village that women cannot show their faces in public. Young girls who have not yet married like to come here in groups, play in the water while washing clothes, and finish the work while having fun.
The same is true today.
When the women saw Qin Zhao coming, they stopped playing and calmed down.
Men and women need to avoid suspicion, so Qin Zhao did not approach. He stood a little further away and found a shallow beach to put down the things in his hand.
"Remember to swim farther." Qin Zhao released the little koi from the fish basket.
Jing Li certainly didn't want to smell like soapberries, so he swam towards the middle of the stream with his tail wagging.
When Qin Zhao saw him swimming away, he grabbed some soapnut powder and started washing clothes.
The women had already finished their work, but now they all slowed down their movements, splashing the already washed clothes in the water from time to time, glancing in Qin Zhao's direction from time to time.
Li Dali said something right before. With Qin Zhao's appearance, no one would dislike him if he stood out.
When Qin Zhao first came to the village, many women even passed by his house intentionally or unintentionally just to take a look at him.
But as time went on, everyone knew that this man had a strange disease of unknown origin and could not do heavy work.
For farmers like them who have been farming for generations, if they can't carry anything on their shoulders or hands, they are basically useless.
Not to mention that this person has to take medicine regularly, which is another huge expense.
The girls in the village then gave up their ideas.
However, if you come across it occasionally, it’s okay to take a few glances to satisfy your eyes.
Who wouldn't like to look at someone who is good-looking
Qin Zhao pretended not to hear it, but Jing Li noticed it.
The women were further upstream and had stopped what they were doing. They put their heads together, pointed at Qin Zhao and whispered to each other. No one knew what they were talking about, and they were pushing and shoving each other and laughing.
Jing Li: “…”
He was very familiar with this look, it was clear that she was interested in Qin Zhao.
The little koi suddenly felt unhappy.
He swung his tail and swam over angrily, trying to drive the person away. He happened to hear a woman say, "If you want to talk to him, just say so. Why are you pushing me?"
The other woman's ears turned red, and she said shyly, "What was I thinking? I... It's obviously you guys!"
Several women were laughing and pushing each other, and the hairpin in the hair of the woman who was speaking slipped off and fell into the water.
"My hairpin!" The woman stood up anxiously.
The current here is not very fast, just reaching the height of an adult man's calf. But there are many rocks at the bottom of the stream, so it is easy to get into danger and it is difficult to find things if you fall into it.
Several women gave up their teasing thoughts and went into the water to look for him.
But I searched around but couldn't find it.
The woman was so anxious that she almost cried: "That's the only thing my mother left me. What should I do?"
Jing Li looked at the small wooden hairpin lying not far from him and uttered a bubble faintly: "..."
It’s obviously so close.
These silly girls.
He swam up resignedly, picked up the wooden hairpin, floated to the surface, and swam to the woman who lost the hairpin.
The woman was so anxious that she was crying. In a trance she saw a fish swimming towards her with a wooden hairpin in its mouth. She was stunned.
The little koi fish wagged its tail at the woman, who bent down and lifted it out of the water with both hands.
"You... did you help me find it?" The woman asked in a sobbing voice with tears still hanging on her eyelashes.
Jing Lisong opened his mouth, letting the hairpin fall back into her hand, and then he gently tapped her fingers twice with the tail of the fish.
Yes, it’s me. No need to thank me. If it’s convenient, please don’t gather in groups to watch others by the river. It’s mine.
Jing Li looked at the woman and said seriously in his heart.
Naturally, the woman didn't understand what he was saying.
A woman next to her picked up the hairpin in her hand and said in surprise: "It really is the hairpin you dropped. This little fish is amazing!"
"And she's so cute. Can I touch her?" another woman said.
"I'll go first, I'll go first. I really want to take it home and raise it."
"I think so too. What do you say we take it back secretly?"
Several women came around one after another, and the little koi shrank back, with its tail slightly curled up.
This... This...
"No." A clear male voice sounded behind them.
Several women paused and turned around.
Qin Zhao strode forward, bowed slightly to the woman holding the little koi, and said, "Sorry, I raised this little fish, can you give it back to me?"
The person she was talking to just now appeared in front of her and even talked to her. The woman was a little stunned and couldn't say a word for a while.
Qin Zhao's eyes fell on the little koi and he stretched out his hand towards him: "Come here."
The little koi wagged its tail and obediently jumped into Qin Zhao's palm.
Qin Zhao's serious expression relaxed a little. He said goodbye to the women and turned to leave.
Several women looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, someone spoke up: "That... that is really the fish he raised. How could he raise them so well and even find a hairpin..."
"These are nothing... But Qing'er is so lucky today, Qin Zhao took the initiative to talk to you!"
The woman called Qing'er just looked at Qin Zhao's back and didn't respond.
Qin Zhao carried the little koi back to the shallows and without saying a word, stuffed the fish back into the fish basket.
Jing Li: “???”
What is this for? He hasn’t had enough fun yet!
Qin Zhao tapped the little koi's forehead with his finger and said, "Before I finish washing the clothes, you stay here and reflect on yourself."
The little monster was very seductive and in just a cup of tea, he was almost taken home by someone.
"… If you run around, your white sugar cake will be confiscated." Qin Zhao added when he saw the little koi trying to jump out.
Jing Li: “…”
He threatened the fish again!!!
Under the pressure of someone, Jing Li could only stay in the fish basket and wait until Qin Zhao finished washing the clothes and took him home.
Finally, I had some pastries for dinner.
The little koi was chewing intently, its tail wagging with joy.
Qin Zhao broke the cake into small pieces and waited until he finished one piece before throwing the second piece to him to prevent him from choking if he ate too fast.
He had read stories about monsters in books.
Most of the spirits practice in secluded mountains. They transform into humans and come to the mortal world for one of several reasons: revenge or gratitude.
The former absorbs the essence of living people and in serious cases can endanger other people's lives.
But he had been with this little monster for such a long time, and not only had he not suffered any harm, he was even living much better than before.
If it weren't for this little guy, he might not have been able to survive the incident with the Chen family and would have been driven out of the village long ago.
Instead of it being like this now, the family has some money, has rented land, and is preparing to build a house.
But if it's to repay a favor...
You can't always look like a fish.
Qin Zhao was lost in thought and forgot to give Jing Li a piece of cake.
The little koi raised its head high, staring at the pastry in his hand, its tail wagging anxiously.
"Ah... Sorry."
Qin Zhao quickly broke off a piece of cake and was about to throw it to him when he suddenly stopped.
Seeing the eager look of the little monster, he suddenly felt that if he used the white sugar cake to threaten the little monster to change into human form for him, he would probably not fail.
However, this thought only flashed through Qin Zhao's mind for a moment, and he immediately put it behind him.
There are so many ways to make Xiaoyu tell the truth, why choose such a boring method
Qin Zhao threw the sugar cake into the water, and before it even entered the water, a little koi fish jumped up and caught it. The little koi fish swam to the side with the cake in its mouth, its cheeks bulging with food.
Qin Zhao propped up his chin and looked at him, a smile in his eyes.
After all... it's fun to see how silly this little monster can be.