The next day, Qin Zhao got up early and arrived in town before the morning market.
Jing Li was being led by him, and his overly long sleeves and trouser legs were rolled up several times, and his long gown almost fell to the ground. Jing Li pulled at his collar uncomfortably, and Qin Zhao said, "It's invisible, don't mess with it."
"I just can't say it..." Jing Li tightened his collar to cover the fish scales on his neck.
He had no suitable clothes to wear, so Qin Zhao brought him to town today to buy him clothes.
But Jing Li still couldn't transform into a human properly. After a lot of effort, there were still a few fish scales on his neck that he couldn't hide. The location of the fish scales was not conspicuous, and they were hidden by the collar, so they couldn't be seen, but Jing Li always felt uneasy and worried that someone would see them.
He didn't want to come out at first, but Qin Zhao was worried about leaving him alone at home, so he insisted on keeping him by his side.
But it goes without saying whether she was worried that he would be in danger if he was alone at home, or she wanted Xiaoyu to wear his clothes and go out with him.
Qin Zhao retracted his gaze and controlled himself from having wild thoughts.
They soon entered a cloth shop in the town.
Qin Zhao seldom came to such formal cloth shops in the past. Several nearby villages grew cotton and ramie, and as the saying goes, men farm and women weave, when the men in the farmers' families went out to work on the farm, the women usually took on the weaving work.
Buying cloth from farmers is much cheaper than in town.
However, the cloth woven by farmers is mostly simple, without so many styles and not so finely processed.
The cloth shop in the town is different. The shelves are filled with all kinds of patterns, cotton, linen, silk and damask, clearly divided into different categories.
As soon as they walked in, the owner of the cloth shop came to greet them.
"What style would you like to choose? Clothes or bed sheets?"
Jing Li was afraid that others would see his fish scales, so he held Qin Zhao's arm tightly with one hand and hid behind Qin Zhao, not daring to speak.
Qin Zhao patted his hands and said to the cloth shop owner, "To make clothes, you need a softer material."
"Is it for this young master?" asked the cloth shop owner with a smile.
Qin Zhao and Jing Li both looked good. When Qin Zhao didn't speak, he looked like a stranger who didn't want to be approached, but Jing Li was totally different. His face was cute and well-behaved, but he looked a little timid and shy, which made him even more pitiful.
The cloth shop owner seldom saw such handsome young men with different talents in the town, so he was very friendly to both of them.
He led the two to an area and said, "Take a look at this. This cotton material is soft, thin and breathable. It is suitable even for wearing next to the skin. Would you like to touch it?"
Qin Zhao tried the feel of it, then tilted his head and asked Jing Li, "What do you think?"
Jing Li covered his collar with one hand, poked his head out to touch the fabric, frowned and said, "I don't want this color."
The color is so dark that it doesn’t look good at all.
Most of the men who come to the cloth shop to buy cloth are residents of this town or nearby villages. Dark colors are stain-resistant and convenient to work with, and are usually the best-selling colors in the store, so the cloth shop owner recommended this type first.
Qin Zhao also felt that this color did not match his little fish. He looked around for a moment and said, "I want to see that piece of material."
Jing Li looked in the direction of his finger and his eyes brightened.
It was a piece of bright red cloth. The material should be the same as the one they were looking at now, but the pattern was more delicate, with dark patterns on it, and the color looked bright and colorful, but not vulgar.
"Sir, you have good taste. This pomegranate red is the most popular style recently. We just got some new stock. You can't buy it anywhere else!" The cloth shop owner smiled and quickly took the piece of material. "Look at the dyeing and the pattern. How beautiful!"
This color is not as good as bright red, but it suits the skin tone better than bright red. It will definitely suit Xiaoyu.
The more Qin Zhao looked at it, the more satisfied he became.
Jing Li also liked it. He reached out and touched it, and asked casually, "How much?"
The cloth shop owner said: "A piece of clothing costs 500 wen for the material and 30 wen for the labor. I will make it for you and send it directly to your home!"
Jing Li: “…”
Jing Li pulled Qin Zhao from behind and whispered, "Let's go to another one."
So expensive.
One piece of clothing can pay for their food for a month.
Seeing his stingy look, Qin Zhao couldn't help but smile: "It's okay, buy it if you like it."
Jing Li really liked it, but he was already eating and drinking for free at Qin Zhao's place and couldn't be so extravagant anymore.
Qin Zhao wanted to persuade him again, but Jing Li said, "Let's look at something else first!"
In addition to outerwear, Jing Li also needed innerwear, pants, and shoes, all of which cost money. Underwear required high material requirements, and Jing Li picked and chose. In the end, making two or three sets of clothes cost about 740 coins, including the labor cost.
When it came time to pay, Jing Li was still reluctant to part with the original piece of material.
Most of the materials he picked today were red, but none of them were as beautiful as the pomegranate red.
Qin Zhao naturally knew what he was thinking, and said to the cloth shop owner, "Wrap up that piece of material as well."
Jing Li was startled: "No, it's so expensive..."
Qin Zhao didn't explain and gently interrupted him: "Be obedient."
"But… "
Those originally cost 740 wen, plus this one costs 530 more wen, which makes 1,270 wen.
It would take Qin Zhao a long time to earn so much money.
Qin Zhao added: "There's no need to make clothes. Just pack the materials and send them to Linxi Village."
Jing Li: “?”
This guy can even make clothes
In front of Jing Li's astonished gaze, Qin Zhao paid the money and tapped him lightly on the forehead: "What are you thinking about? I'll go back to the village and find someone to do it."
These clothes were made in town, and the labor costs alone would cost nearly two hundred coins.
But if you buy the materials and go back to the village to find someone to make it, it only costs a few dozen coins.
Jing Li suddenly realized.
"You are so virtuous and you know how to save money." Jing Li said seriously after leaving the cloth shop.
Qin Zhao: “…”
Noticing that Qin Zhao paused, Jing Li turned back to look at him: "What's wrong?"
—I don’t think there is anything wrong with using the word virtuous to describe a man.
Qin Zhao was really curious about what this little fish was thinking about all day.
The little guy was still looking back at him. After going to the cloth shop, he seemed to have completely forgotten about the fish scales. Although the collar was blocking his view, he couldn't see anything.
Qin Zhao looked at him for a moment and shook his head: "There is no meat at home, let's go to the market again."
The conditions in the mountain village were not good, and even the wealthy Chen family in the village could not often eat meat. If the farmers in the village knew what Qin Zhao used to feed the fish every day, they would probably be shocked.
No, now I am feeding my husband.
Thinking of this, Qin Zhao became worried again.
The little guy still doesn't know what "fulang" means, but everyone in the village already treats him as their family's husband, so this matter certainly can't be kept secret.
Rather than being asked about it in the future and the little guy saying the wrong thing due to confusion, he should find a chance to explain it to him.
Explain when you get home.
After buying some meat and some pastries at the market, Qin Zhao took Jing Li for a walk on the street to see if there was anything else they needed to buy.
The small mountain village is more self-sufficient and common vegetables, fruits and eggs can be bought from villagers.
After waiting for a while, when the vegetables grown in the home vegetable garden are ripe, you won’t even need to buy vegetables.
After Jing Li finished eating a piece of sugar cake, Qin Zhao opened the oil paper bag and handed it to him. Jing Li was about to reach out to take it, but he stopped as if he thought of something.
Qin Zhao asked: "What happened again?"
"I don't think this will work." Jing Li looked at the hot cake in Qin Zhao's hand and said, "We've spent a lot of money today."
Qin Zhao: “…”
I ate half of it before I remembered...
Isn't it a bit late
Qin Zhao suppressed his laughter: "It doesn't matter."
Clothes are necessities. As for these pastries, money is not so tight now, so they are enough for the little guy to have as snacks.
"Why not?" Jing Li was very worried about this. "After the house is built, we still need to buy furniture, beds, your desk, wardrobes, cabinets. It will cost a lot of money. We have to save money."
Qin Zhaoping was lectured for nothing, and raised his hand holding the candy cake: "Then... are you still going to eat these?"
Jing Li's eyes fell on his hand. The white sugar cake lay quietly in the oil paper bag, still steaming.
“One last eat!”
The two walked from the beginning to the end of the street and bought everything they needed for daily life. Qin Zhao asked someone to send the things he bought back to Linxi Village as usual, and wanted to walk back to the village with Jing Li.
Jing Li watched him load the backpack into the other party's ox cart and looked at him with some concern: "Do you really want to walk back? Can you do it?"
Qin Zhao paused: "..."
He took a calm breath, loaded the goods, and tilted his head to look at him: "You will know whether I can do it or not in a moment."
Jing Li: “?”
This sounds weird.
After sending the goods away, Qin Zhao did not rush to take Jing Li out of town, but went to a carpenter's shop again.
The new house will be completed in a few days. After it is completed, he will move out of the small house he lives in now, and the furniture for the new house must be ordered in advance.
Although it is possible to find farmers in the village to do work, when doing business with neighbors, especially for someone like Lin Changzhong who is already familiar with Qin Zhao, they usually charge him the cost price for carpentry work.
After a while, Qin Zhao was no longer willing to trouble them.
First, he didn't want to always owe favors to others, and second, no one was rich, so it was not good to always trouble others.
But after asking several carpentry shops, the prices were all beyond Qin Zhao's imagination.
By the end of the question, Jing Li was a little dazed: "I shouldn't have eaten those pieces of candy just now..."
Qin Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
In fact, even if Jing Li didn't eat the cakes, his current savings were not enough to buy all the furniture in the town.
It seems that I have no choice but to go back to the village to ask for help.
The two men came out of the carpenter's shop and were about to walk out of the town when they suddenly heard a voice behind them: "Benefactor, benefactor!"
The two turned around and saw Fang Tianying running towards them from afar.
Fang Tianying came up to him and said, "I was just about to go to Linxi Village, but I didn't expect to meet you here."
Qin Zhao asked: "Are you looking for me?"
"I was in a hurry yesterday and didn't have time to pay back the money." Fang Tianying said, "My benefactor is preparing to return to the village. Do you want to have a simple meal first? I'll treat you."
Qin Zhao was about to refuse when his sleeve was suddenly gently pulled by someone from behind.
He turned around and saw the little boy's head tilted slightly up, his fingers tugging at his sleeves, his eyes looking at him innocently.
Qin Zhao: “…”
Qin Zhao said: "Thank you very much."
It was not yet noon, and there were not many customers in the town's restaurants. As soon as Fang Tianying entered the door, the waiter came up to him warmly: "Master Fang, you are here, still at your old seat?"
Fang Tianying nodded.
The waiter led them to a private seat by the window on the second floor, where the view was wide and they could see the busy main street outside just by lowering their heads.
Fang Tianying was very good at dealing with people. He knew that Qin Zhao probably didn't come to this kind of restaurant often, so he didn't ask him what he wanted to order. He took the initiative to order some of the best dishes in the restaurant and said, "Let's serve these first, and then a pot of wine."
Qin Zhao interrupted: "I don't drink."
Fang Tianying looked at Jing Li: "Then he..."
"He doesn't drink either."
"Okay, then no more wine." Fang Tianying ordered, "Be quick."
The waiter responded repeatedly, served a pot of tea to the few people, and turned and left.
Fang Tianying personally poured tea for the two of them and said, "My benefactor..."
Qin Zhao said: "It was a piece of cake to save you at the beginning, you don't have to call me like this."
"Okay." Fang Tianying thought about it and changed his words readily, "You are older than me, so I will call you big brother."
He added, "By the way, I just saw you guys coming out of the carpenter's shop. I heard that Brother Qin's family is building a new house, so they need furniture made, right?"
Qin Zhao nodded: "Yes."
"You should have told me earlier." Fang Tianying said, "The carpentry shops you are going to are owned by my family. Just tell me what you want, Brother Qin. I will let the shop know tomorrow and they will make it and send it to you!"
Jing Li was stunned.
They were just worrying about not being able to afford furniture, and now it’s delivered to their doorstep
Qin Zhao knew that the Fang family was in the timber business, so he just shook his head calmly and said, "That's your family's livelihood, and it's too expensive. I can't take it."
"What's the big deal? If it wasn't for Brother Qin saving me, I might have starved to death in the mountains." Fang Tianying said, "If you don't let me thank you, I will feel uneasy."
Qin Zhao said: "If you run away from home, even if you don't meet me, you will meet your servants who come out to look for you."
Fang Tianying was stunned: "How do you know I am-"
Not to mention Qin Zhao, even Jing Li could roughly guess it.
Given Young Master Fang's status, if he were to travel far away, his family would definitely follow him.
There's no reason to get lost in the mountains.
Fang Tianying obviously figured this out. He scratched his head and said with a smile, "I have a little conflict with my father. Please forgive me, Brother Qin."
"No, why are we talking about this again?" Fang Tianying brought the topic back to the topic, "Are you going to accept the furniture or not?"
Qin Zhao said he would not accept any of it, but Fang Tianying did not give him the chance to refuse. He stopped him with a few words and said that if Qin Zhao refused to tell him what he wanted, he would have the store make a set according to the highest standards.
If there is no room in the yard for the products, they are kept and used as firewood.
Qin Zhao was quite helpless about the young master's temper and could only agree.
"That's right, why bother being polite to me." Fang Tianying smiled with satisfaction, "Even if it's not about saving me, I still have to apologize for what happened yesterday."
What he was talking about was naturally the matter of his servant causing trouble for Qin Zhao for the sake of koi.
Qin Zhao shook his head: "It's nothing, don't take it to heart."
To be honest, apart from scaring Xiaoyu, what happened yesterday did not cause any loss to Qin Zhao.
On the contrary, it also allows Xiaoyu to no longer have to hide the secret, which is actually a good thing.
"Alas, only Brother Qin is generous." Fang Tianying didn't know this and sighed to himself, "I told my father a long time ago not to pay attention to Uncle Lu's stupid... cough, posting this notice, disturbing everyone's peace."
Qin Zhao was a little curious: "So you don't want to go find the koi?"
Fang Tianying said: "To be honest, I don't believe that koi fish exists at all!"
Jing Li subconsciously exchanged glances with Qin Zhao, who then asked, "Why don't you believe it? Didn't they say that the koi was raised by Mr. Lu?"
Fang Tianying looked around and lowered his voice and said, "Brother Qin, I'm going to tell you the truth. Don't tell anyone else. My uncle told others that his family lost the fish, but in fact, he has never seen the fish."
Qin Zhao frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"
Fang Tianying: "I also heard that this koi seemed to be raised by the abbot of a temple in Jiangling Prefecture."
"It is said that the abbot was a great monk who passed away not long ago and the temple changed hands. I don't know how this koi was resold."
Qin Zhao asked, "So, Mr. Lu is just the buyer of this koi?"
"Yes." Fang Tianying said, "Uncle Lu has not been in good health these years, so he believes these things. I don't know where he got the news about the koi, and he wants to spend one thousand taels to buy the fish back."
"That's one thousand taels!" Fang Tianying couldn't believe it. "Do you think he has too much money and has nowhere to put it?"
He added, "He paid a deposit of several hundred taels, but the fish was never delivered to him. The news came that the delivery truck overturned on the road and the fish escaped. Who would believe such nonsense? Is there such a bad luck?"
Jing Li was drinking water. When he heard this, he choked and started coughing violently.
It's really unlucky to meet him.
… I’m so sorry.
Qin Zhao poured him a glass of water at the right time.
Jing Li took a big gulp of water and felt a little better.
What Fang Tianying said just now just happened to correspond to what he encountered after coming here. It seems that he traveled through time on the way that the koi were transported from Jiangling to Qingshan Town. Who knew that he was born with bad luck, and the car overturned on the road, so he had the opportunity to escape.
But if you think about it another way... this is also a kind of luck.
Otherwise, how could he meet Qin Zhao
Fang Tianying added: "You saw the painting on the notice. I heard that it was the remains of that great monk. But I think my uncle was deceived. There may be koi, but it is definitely not so mysterious, and it is definitely not in the hands of those who traded with him. Otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen?"
"You're not right." Jing Li interrupted him, "How could there be no koi? There's a saying that goes 'there's no wind without waves', so koi must exist, and they can definitely help people realize their wishes."
On the surface, he was talking to Fang Tianying, but in fact he was secretly observing Qin Zhao's reaction.
Qin Zhao tilted his head to look at him and understood.
Little Silly Fish was still worried about being sent away by him.
It seems that what he said a few days ago really scared people.
Qin Zhao suppressed the smile in his eyes, nodded, and said seriously: "Yes, I also think that the existence of koi should not be false."
Fang Tianying looked at Qin Zhao, then looked at Jing Li, and couldn't believe it: "Why do you all believe this?"
"… Never mind, just believe it." Fang Tianying sighed and said, "I hope there really is a koi fish that can bring me some good luck."
Qin Zhao said: "Sincerity is the key to success."
"Brother Qin is right."
As they were talking, the waiter came and served the dishes.
Fang Tianying was a regular customer of his restaurant. After the waiter had served the dishes, he introduced them one by one and said, "These are the specialties of this restaurant. You can try them first and add more if you don't have enough."
"Sister-in-law too, don't be polite to me!"
Qin Zhao: “…”
Jing Li, who was about to pick up some food: "?"