The next morning, Jing Li opened his eyes and immediately found himself still sleeping in Qin Zhao's arms.
Qin Zhao hasn't woken up yet.
Jing Li looked up and saw Qin Zhao lying quietly beside him, eyes slightly closed. From Jing Li's perspective, he could clearly see each of his eyelashes, which were clearly visible and slightly curled.
Even though they have lived together for such a long time, Jing Li is still a little dazed.
He had never seen anyone as handsome and good-looking as Qin Zhao.
But he is more than just his appearance. His knowledge, his character, his gentleness are all impeccable.
But... this person is still so nice to him.
Jing Li stared at the sleeping face in a daze, and as if possessed by a ghost, he reached out and gently poked the other person's face.
Warm, firm, smooth.
That face was extremely thin, which was perhaps the only flaw in Qin Zhao's appearance. Jing Li couldn't imagine what he would look like if he wasn't sick.
"… What are you thinking about?" Qin Zhao opened his eyes at some point, and his voice had a hoarseness that was unique to the early morning.
Jing Li was caught off guard and met the other person's gaze. He trembled all over and subconsciously wanted to step back.
But Qin Zhao still had one hand on his waist, blocking all escape routes.
Jing Li was so nervous that he didn't dare to look up. He whispered, "I didn't think about anything."
Qin Zhao obviously didn't believe it.
But he didn't say anything else. He raised the hand that was around Jing Li's waist, gently pinched his face, and said lightly: "I'll give it back to you."
Then he stood up and put on his clothes.
Jing Li maintained his original posture without moving. After a while, he realized that his ears were burning. He touched his ears in annoyance. Qin Zhao had already handed him his clothes: "We agreed to go to the town today. Hurry up and change your clothes."
They just moved into a new house and have some things to buy.
For example, plant some flowers and plants in the yard.
The two of them took a bullock cart to the town, Jingli paid the fare, and then they headed to the market.
Since deciding to let Jing Li manage the money, Qin Zhao has kept his word and did not keep a single penny on him, giving it all to Jing Li.
There is a flower market in the town that specializes in selling flowers, and the entrance of the shop is filled with various kinds of flowers.
"This bag of flower seeds costs eight cents?" Jing Li couldn't believe it. "This is too expensive..."
The flower market owner was a kind-looking middle-aged woman. She was not annoyed when Jing Li said that. She said, "This is a crabapple flower. This kind of crabapple is just right for planting at this time of year. A mature flower can be sold for dozens of coins."
“Hmm…” Jing Li looked embarrassed.
There are about twenty seeds in this packet. It would be great if half of them could germinate.
To fill his yard with plants, he would have to buy at least three or four bags.
This store does sell flower plants that have already sprouted, but the price is several times higher than the seeds, making them even more unaffordable.
The first time Jing Li went out to manage money, he encountered a huge setback.
He turned around and looked at Qin Zhao behind him, who just smiled at him and said, "Buy it if you want it."
The flower market owner followed suit, "Yes, this flower looks good when grown, and the nectar and petals can be used to make snacks. Your husband has already said that it's okay to buy it, so what are you worried about?"
"He is not me--" Jing Li subconsciously wanted to deny it, but Qin Zhao gently hooked his finger.
Jing Li pursed his lips and said nothing more.
… Do I have to pretend here too
Jing Li didn't say anything else, but he didn't let go of the hand that was hooked on his fingers.
He was a little embarrassed, his eyes wandering around uncomfortably, and he saw another kind of flower on the counter: "How much is that?"
The flower market owner was looking at the two people's clasped hands. He smiled when he heard what they said and took the flower seeds to show Jing Li: "These are mixed flower seeds, only two cents a bag. Although there are not many buds, a bag of flower seeds is more than twice the previous one."
One pack costs two cents, and three packs only cost six cents.
Most of these flower seeds are wild flowers. There are many different varieties in a bag, with different qualities. Occasionally, you can grow one or two rare ones, but it depends on luck.
However, because the flower varieties are different, planting and care are definitely not as easy as those of a single species.
But Jing Li was very satisfied.
Anyway, it's just used to decorate the yard. Although it takes some time, the effect will be better if grown this way.
"Is this okay?" Jing Li asked Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao said calmly: "I will listen to you, Madam."
Jing Li: “…”
Jing Li bought three bags of flower seeds under the teasing gaze of the flower market owner, who also gave them a small bag of rose seeds, wishing them a happy marriage.
The noise made Jing Li walk out of the store with an appearance that looked as if he was fleeing in panic.
Knowing that his little fish couldn't help being teased, Qin Zhao said nothing. He thanked the boss politely before pushing the door open and leaving.
After buying the flower seeds, they also go to the bookstore to buy books.
There were two bookstores in the town, and Qin Zhao took Jing Li directly to the one he was more familiar with.
It was still early, and there were not many people in the bookstore. The bookstore clerk was standing at the door of the store wiping the bookshelves. Seeing Qin Zhao coming in, he greeted him familiarly: "It's Qin Zhao, how are you these days?"
Qin Zhao nodded: "Not bad."
"I think you look good, much better than in the winter," the clerk said. "It's just right that you're here. Our boss said two days ago that the city has just released a list of books for next year's imperial examination. There are a few books that are selling fast in the store, so he asked me to send the sample books to you for you to copy."
Most of the books sold in bookstores were printed books, but the prices were high, and many books were needed for the imperial examinations, so many people could not afford such high costs. Therefore, buying handwritten copies was the next best option.
However, the price for simply copying books is much lower than that for revising them. Calculated by volume, one book can only be given about fifty cents.
The advantage is that copying a book saves much more energy than revising it.
Moreover, Qin Zhao wants to participate in next year's scientific examination, so he also needs to read those books.
Qin Zhao roughly asked which books they were and nodded: "No problem, let the shopkeeper sort them out and send them directly to the village."
“You are so straightforward. By the way, this is…” The waiter’s eyes fell on Jing Li.
Qin Zhao said, "This is my husband. I want to bring him here to buy some elementary school books today."
"Husband...husband?" the guy exclaimed, "Great boy, you've even got a husband after just a few days of not seeing him?!"
Qin Zhao smiled but did not answer.
The waiter made some more jokes and led them in: "Go to the end of this road and turn right. The elementary school is at the end."
Qin Zhao led Jing Li forward. Jing Li kept his head down and didn't say a word. Qin Zhao leaned forward slightly and asked, "Are you angry?"
The bookstore was very quiet and Qin Zhao spoke in a low voice.
"No, no." Jing Li looked away.
He just felt that Qin Zhao was calling him Fu Lang more and more easily.
Although he knew he was just pretending in front of others, Jing Li felt a little embarrassed for some reason and changed the subject: "Let's find a book first."
Jing Li has only learned a few words in the past few days, but he is still far from being able to understand the words in the book, so he can only let Qin Zhao choose.
Qin Zhao picked out two primers for learning to read, and went to get a few books for undergraduate exams. Just as he was about to ask Jing Li to go back to the counter, he saw something else.
In the middle of the shelf, there is a row of popular notebooks displayed prominently.
The one placed at the top is the third volume of "Spring Boudoir Secrets".
Qin Zhao: “…”
Jing Li was still flipping through a book, trying to pick out words he knew, and didn't notice him. Qin Zhao's eyes moved slightly, and he quietly took out a book and put it in his pile of exam books.
As the clerk counted the books, he said, "Have you finally decided to take the imperial examination? Our boss said before that you should try to take the examination, otherwise it would be a waste of such good knowledge. Alas, our boss's son will take the examination for the third time next year, and I don't know if he can pass it."
The bookstore clerk was a chatterbox who never stopped talking. He picked up the book "Spring Boudoir Secrets" and was stunned for a moment, raising his eyebrows: "So you read this too?"
Jing Li looked up.
Handwritten books are bound to have errors and omissions, so for the sake of caution, Qin Zhao bought printed books. Most of the printed books in the store look the same, with indigo covers and book titles written on the covers. From the outside, there is no difference.
But the cover of the book in the guy's hand actually had some patterns painted on it. It was not only thinner than other books, but the color of the cover was also slightly lighter than other books.
Jing Li didn't recognize the words on it, so he asked, "Is this also a book for the imperial examination?"
Qin Zhao's expression was calm without a single flaw, and he nodded: "Yes."
Man: “?”
Qin Zhao slowly raised his eyelids and glanced at him.
Man: “…”
The clerk understood and nodded to Jing Li: "Yes, it is a book for the imperial examination."
Printed books were much more expensive than handwritten copies, and a stack of books cost more than 500 coins. However, Jing Li never tried to save money on these important matters, so he happily paid the bill and left with Qin Zhao, holding the books.
The two men left the store. The clerk looked at their backs and muttered, "He looks like a decent person."
Can play.
He sighed, turned around, took out a copy of "Spring Boudoir Secrets", and read it in a corner.
Qin Zhao and Jing Li went to the market again, bought some daily necessities, and then took a ox cart back to the village.
The two went to the fields first and found that the seedlings that were damaged yesterday had indeed been replanted. Even the other vegetables had been taken care of and carefully watered.
"It must have been done by Brother Dali." Jing Li said.
Qin Zhao nodded.
Li Dali is a very honest person, so Qin Zhao did not expect him to do this.
This saved the two of them a lot of trouble. They walked around the field and when there was nothing else that needed to be taken care of, they went back home.
As soon as I walked to the bamboo courtyard, I saw a figure sitting at the door of his courtyard.
It was Li Dali.
It was almost noon and the sun was shining brightly. Li Dali had been sitting here for an unknown period of time, and his forehead was covered with sweat.
As soon as he saw Qin Zhao coming from the direction of the fields, he immediately realized that they had been to the fields to check. He scratched his nose a little embarrassedly and said, "I helped out when I was planting the rice seedlings yesterday."
Qin Zhao nodded at him and pushed open the gate: "Come in and sit down."
Jing Li took the initiative to pack up the things he bought today. Qin Zhao asked Li Dali to sit down at the table and poured him a bowl of water: "Do you want to talk to me about something?"
Li Dali was very thirsty, so he gulped down a large bowl of water, then smiled bitterly: "It's all for my brother."
Qin Zhao lowered his eyes without answering and poured him another bowl of water.
Li Dali wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Ayu has been a scoundrel since he was young. Even his father can't control him, but he loves his sister Xiu the most, so he will..."
Li Dali was a rough man who was not good at talking. He sighed and said, "That bastard was taught a lesson by his father yesterday. He knows he was wrong. Qin Zhao, if you still want any compensation, just tell us. As long as we can do it, we can agree to it."
Qin Zhao looked at him for a moment, without expressing his opinion, but said "wait a moment", turned and went into the bedroom.
After a while, he came out and pushed a few copper coins in front of Li Dali: "This is the reward for helping me weed and water my house. Keep it."
Li Dali frowned and said, "Qin Zhao, what do you mean?"
Qin Zhao said: "Planting those seedlings back is the compensation your Li family should give, but the other work is not. I can't accept this favor in vain."
"You..." Li Dali didn't understand his intention and asked, "So you don't want to pursue it?"
Qin Zhao sat down at the table and said calmly, "As for the grudge between me and Li Hongyu, since he knows he is wrong, why did you come to me?"
"He..." Li Dali paused.
Qin Zhao said, "From the beginning to the end, this matter is only Li Hongyu's business. There is no reason for you to be his lobbyist. I appreciate Dali's kindness, but whether he wants to apologize or argue with me, he should come in person."
"… If you have nothing else, please go back."