"It was probably hatched while we were talking here just now." Qin Zhao observed the area near the door. There was a shallow water mark next to the place where the backpack was originally placed. "This little thing is quite courageous. It dared to run around right after hatching. Just with him..."
Exactly like his daddy.
Qin Zhao swallowed the words and didn't dare to say them out loud.
In the fish tank, the larger koi gently patted the smaller fish next to it with its fins: "Let you make noise."
Jing Li felt it was inconvenient to teach the kid a lesson in his human form, so he changed into his original form and went into the water. Two koi, one big and one small, squeezed into the enlarged bamboo leaf bed. The scene looked strange and cute.
Qin Zhao tilted his head to look at them, and couldn't help but reach into the water and touch the heads of the two koi.
"I'm teaching him a lesson." Jing Li said unhappily.
"Okay." Qin Zhao stroked Jing Li's dorsal fin with his fingers and said gently, "He knows he's wrong, right?"
The little fish rubbed his hand with its head obediently, then came over and rubbed Jing Li's belly carefully.
Jing Li's attitude obviously softened a lot, and he snorted coldly: "Just spoil me."
He just couldn't understand, Qin Zhao was usually so strict with his students, why was he so unprincipled when it came to his own children
Qin Zhao smiled but did not answer.
The little fish was very smart. Feeling that its father was no longer angry, it happily crawled under his abdomen and kept wagging its tail against the little koi's fins.
Jing Li felt itchy from him and tried to dodge by wagging his tail but failed. So he simply flapped his fins lightly and pressed the little fish onto the crib.
"Stop teasing me, you—" Little Koi noticed something and moved closer to take a closer look. "Qin Zhao, come and see."
Qin Zhao lowered his head: "What are you looking at?"
The fish fin patted its hands and said, "Here, look."
Qin Zhao: “…” He didn’t know what the little guy wanted him to see.
"It's so obvious, you're so stupid." Jing Li said, "I wanted to show you that the fish baby seems to be a boy."
Qin Zhao moved closer to take a closer look and could only see some scales that had not yet grown on the little fish's body, nothing else.
He had only raised one fish, Jingli, and did not know how to distinguish the genders of the fry.
Jing Li said yes, so it is.
Qin Zhao said: "Now we can prepare to name him."
Like he said before, he doesn't care what the gender of the child is, he would like it whether it is a boy, a girl or both.
The little fish was unwilling to be suppressed, and wagged its tail in resistance.
Two little fish, one big and one small, were playing in the water. Qin Zhao smiled and turned to go into the inner room.
There was only one bed left in the inner room, which was left by the previous owner. The wood was still in new condition and there was no obvious damage.
Qin Zhao plans to use it for the time being.
They didn't have much money on hand, and now they still owed others money, so they couldn't afford to be picky. Moreover, although Fang Tianying didn't urge them to pay back the money, Qin Zhao never had the habit of owing others, so he naturally hoped to pay off the debt as soon as possible.
Before they left home, they brought two new quilts that were made this year. This bed happened to be the same size as his family's previous bed, so it fit perfectly on his bed.
Qin Zhao made the bed and turned to Jing Li and said, "The bed is made. Come and have a rest first. I'll go get some food."
In the fish tank, the koi fish used its tail to lift up the little fish and tossed them up and down, and did not hear what Qin Zhao was saying.
Qin Zhao: “…”
It seems that he doesn't want to sleep anymore.
Okay.
There was nothing to eat at home, so Qin Zhao had to go to the street to buy some.
There was a snack stand at the corner of the street. Qin Zhao bought two bowls of noodle soup and a steamed egg. The stall owner was an old man in his fifties. Seeing that he was well-mannered, he smiled and said, "You look unfamiliar, young man. Did you just move in?"
Qin Zhao: “Exactly.”
"Are you going to take the exam?" The old man had a kind face and was not averse to outsiders. "My son is preparing for the provincial exam next year. Who knows, you may meet him again."
Qin Zhao chatted with him and asked about the location of the market, its opening hours, and where to buy things at the best prices.
After the two of them finished talking about this, the noodles were cooked.
Qin Zhao returned home with two bowls of noodle soup and an egg. Jing Li was still playing happily with his son, and Qin Zhao called him several times before he noticed.
"Come out and eat, it will get cold soon."
A beam of red light flew straight into the inner room. Qin Zhao retracted his gaze and peeled the steamed egg. He separated the egg white from the yolk, peeled out the egg yolk particles as big as a fingernail, and crushed them finely in the palm of his hand.
The little fish realized that it was going to be fed to him, so he swam over to the tank and wagged his tail happily.
Qin Zhao fed him the crushed egg yolk little by little. He soon finished the small piece, but the little fish was still not satisfied and was still circling anxiously on the water.
Qin Zhao: “…”
"No, you can't eat it anymore." Qin Zhao made up his mind and put all the remaining eggs into the bowl of noodle soup opposite him in front of Xiao Yucui. "You can only eat this much at a time."
He still hasn't forgotten how Xiaoyu was fed so much by him when she first came to his house.
He later found out that feeding too much would kill the fish.
The little fish felt as if the sky was falling. He stared blankly at the egg which was gradually sinking into the soup. After a while, he also sank to the bottom of the water.
This was the scene Jing Li saw when he changed his clothes and came out.
"What's wrong?" Jing Li asked with concern when he saw that his son suddenly lost his spirit.
"It's okay." Qin Zhao replied calmly, "I'm afraid I missed you."
Jing Li felt even more distressed after hearing this: "Don't be afraid, Daddy won't leave, he will be back to play with you soon."
They played until midnight, but Jing Li was still not satisfied and insisted on sleeping in the fish tank with his cub at night.
Late at night, Qin Zhao lay on his side on the bed, looking at the two little koi fish sleeping together not far away, his heart full of helplessness.
After all, he is the only human in the family.
well.
The next day, Qin Zhao took Jing Li out.
The little fish was very energetic and curious about everything, so he couldn't stay in the fish tank. The two of them were worried about the little fish being alone at home, so they put the little fish in a small fish basket and took it to the street together.
They went straight to find Mr. Shang, the boss who sold wood.
After hearing Qin Zhao introduce himself, Boss Shang smiled and led them in: "Nephew Fang has already informed me, Mr. Qin, please feel free to choose any material you want, and I will give you a discount."
There are shops in the city that sell finished furniture directly, but the prices are higher.
The boss Shang recommended by Fang Tianying mainly deals in wood business, but the store also has workers who make furniture, and the prices are much cheaper than outside.
Qin Zhao was not very familiar with wood, so he asked in detail about the wood in the store. Then, after comparing its color, price, and quality, he finally picked out a type that was strong and durable but not too expensive.
There are three courtyards in the house. Qin Zhao plans to let the little fish live there when he grows up, so there is no rush to decorate the smallest courtyard.
The most urgent task is still the main hall, study, and bedrooms in the main courtyard.
Qin Zhao had already planned for this. The day before, he listed all the tables, chairs, dressing tables, cabinets, desks, and other items he needed, clearly specifying their sizes and styles.
Boss Shang looked at the drawings he gave and said, "I understand. Don't worry, Mr. Qin. We can do it here."
Qin Zhao asked: "How many days will it take to complete it?"
"Five days will be enough. I'll deliver it to your house when it's ready."
Qin Zhao nodded: "Thank you."
Boss Shang gave them a discount as agreed, and after rounding off the decimals, he only charged them 450 wen in total including labor costs.
Qin Zhao paid the money and was about to take Jing Li away from the shop when he heard a noise coming from the street.
"Get out of the way! Don't block the road!"
At one end of the long street, a carriage was speeding towards them, and pedestrians on the road quickly moved to the sides to avoid it.
The driver shouted, "Get out of here! Make way for my young master!"
Qin Zhao subconsciously stopped Jing Li behind him and reached out to help the man in front of him who was about to fall.
"Thank you, thank you." The man thanked in a panic.
Jing Li asked: "Who is that person? He looks so arrogant..."
"Young Master, don't say that." The man just now turned around and said, "He is the eldest son of the Gu family. We ordinary people can't mess with him."
Qin Zhao chuckled: "He has no fame or fortune, he is just a commoner, there is nothing to provoke."
"How can they be the same?" the man said.
"Mr. Qin, you don't know this." Boss Shang interrupted from behind the counter, "The young master of the Gu family has been spoiled, and he has the support of his father and the prefect. Anyone who dares to offend him would be offending the prefect, so..."
Jing Li blinked: "How come this is happening? I thought the officials in the city were all honest and selfless..."
"That's not the case. Lord Ge is indeed a good official, but..." Boss Shang paused and continued, "The Gu family runs Jiangling Weaving and Textile. It is said that without his family's support behind the scenes, Jiangling Prefecture would not be what it is today."
"... In short, it won't go wrong if you try to be more tolerant."
The two left Boss Shang's place and went to the market to buy some daily necessities.
At noon, the market was full of restaurants and many vendors were hawking their wares on the street. Jing Li held Qin Zhao's hand with one hand and carried a fish basket with the other. He smelled the fragrance coming from nowhere and his stomach growled.
Qin Zhao stopped and asked: "Are you hungry?"
“Hmm…” Jing Li responded in a low voice.
Qin Zhao said: "It's too late to go home and cook at this hour, let's go to the front and eat."
"Wait." Jing Li held him back, "Let's go home and eat. It's too expensive outside."
They spent more than 800 coins on shopping today. If this continues, their savings will be used up soon.
Jing Li once again gained a new understanding of the prices in the city.
Qin Zhao squeezed Jing Li's hand and said with a smile, "We'll eat at home starting tomorrow. Today is the last time."
"But..." Jing Li was about to say something, but suddenly saw something and pointed ahead, "Let's go there first."
Looking in the direction of Jing Li's finger, there was a tall signboard standing on the side of the road.
The notice boards in the city usually post some recruitment information. If you want to find ways to make money in the city, it is easiest and most convenient to look here.
Jing Li read every notice carefully, but most of them were either heavy lifting or odd jobs. Jing Li frowned slightly and asked, "Have you found the right one?"
"Found it." Qin Zhao said.
Jing Li: “?”
He looked up and saw Qin Zhao looking at a notice at the top of the billboard.
Jing Li looked over and fell silent.
It turned out to be news that the Gu family was looking for a teacher, and a few months later, the recruitment conditions had changed from juren to xiucai or students with outstanding grades in the prefectural school, who only needed to pass the Gu family's test.
In addition, the monthly salary increased by five taels.
Jing Li: “…”
That young master... is really a capable person.
Jing Li complained in his heart, then realized it belatedly and looked at Qin Zhao in astonishment: "Do you really want to try it?"