Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Something Happened

"Xiao Tan, you can cook too?" Uncle Qiang finished venting his anger and his attention was drawn to the bag in Tan Du's hand. "What a good young man."

"I did it randomly," Tan Du smiled, "It's not presentable."

Uncle Qiang waved his hand: "I hope the guy upstairs is as humble as you..."

"Boss Qiao is a nice guy," Tan Du said. "He said he was renting the room on the third floor to help the neighbors."

"Really?" Uncle Qiang pointed at him, "Don't give me money secretly from behind, young man!"

"How could that be?"

"The vast horizon is my love..."

As he was speaking, a loud ringtone rang out. Uncle Qiang picked up and shouted, "Hello! What! Which little bastard! Wait, I'll be right over!"

"What happened?" Tan Du asked hurriedly.

"Of course it's a good thing." Xiang Yuan said on the other end of the phone, "I wouldn't dare disturb Master Qiao even if there was nothing wrong."

"Let him go." The cursing downstairs was deafening. Qiao Zhuo frowned and rubbed his ears.

"A client was very attracted by your previous tribal totem tattoo and wants to get one from you."

"That's a complicated picture."

"It's okay. He's not short of money, and he's not in a hurry. He wants to tattoo his entire back. He'll draw the design first and do it when the weather gets cooler. He doesn't have many requirements. Just follow your style."

Qiao Zhuo thought to himself that people who are only half-baked are the hardest to satisfy.

"Master Qiao, you said you weren't interested in participating in the competition with me. How can you afford to take on a job and pick clients? Didn't you say you've set your sights on a mysterious tribe? Also, I heard your idol is going to hold a small exchange meeting soon..." Xiang Yuan waited for a while but didn't hear a reply, and continued to ramble, "Forget it, the client said that we need a 50% deposit first. If he's still not satisfied after three rounds of drawings, then forget it, and the deposit doesn't need to be refunded."

Tsk, who are you looking down on!

"No need," Qiao Zhuo snorted, "Ask him to contact me."

"Okay," Xiang Yuan raised his voice. "By the way, did you watch the show? Are you satisfied with my performance?"

"I didn't see it." Qiao Zhuo replied, "Pure heart and few desires."

"You're still saying you haven't seen it. You're being stubborn!" Xiang Yuan said, "Then Master Qiao, do you have anything to say?"

Qiao Zhuo snorted coldly: "Let's talk about it after we get to the finals."

"Oh, just wait and see!" Xiang Yuan paused, "A new program group in China is looking for me. After I come back, I guess they will do a tattoo program again. This time, you will..."

"Let's talk about it later." After hanging up the phone, Qiao Zhuo rubbed his arm and wanted to send a message to Xiao Luo to ask him to buy some ointment, but he was afraid that the strong smell would bother the two little ancestors, so he gave up.

——"Wow! It smells so good!"

——"Yeah yeah yeah! It's pineapple fried rice!"

The two little ones came to the table and stared at the plates eagerly. Tan Du smiled and asked them to wash their hands first.

Qiao Zhuoyi lay on the coffee table and drew a picture. He had a phone call with a client in the afternoon and had a general idea.

"Boss Qiao," Tan Du called him, "eat first."

"Hmm." A dog barked by the window. When Qiao Zhuo raised his head, the swallows flying over the windowsill were driven straight to the eaves by the blanket's roar.

"It's going to rain." Tan Du's hands were still wet, and he wiped them towards his waist. Then he was stunned and said, "Sorry."

Qiao Zhuo stood up and said, "That's how aprons are meant to be used."

Tan Du was wearing a white shirt today. Qiao Zhuo took out a black T-shirt and forced him to wear it around his waist to prevent this guy from tricking him into washing it again.

“Uncle, Uncle Tan, eat!”

Qin Yue and Qin Le climbed onto the chairs and sat down upright. They couldn't use their chopsticks until the adults came to the table. Their mouths were almost watering and they couldn't help shouting.

"Here I come."

There were three small bowls and a large bowl on the table. Qiao Zhuoyi took the large bowl and asked, "Are you feeding the pigs?"

Tan Du smiled and said, "Boss Qiao has a huge appetite."

Qiao Zhuo glared at him and concentrated on eating.

After dinner, Tan Du didn't rush to leave. Qiao Zhuoyi leaned over the coffee table and looked at him: "What's up?"

"It's going to rain." Tan Du rubbed his nose.

"I've already said this," Qiao Zhuo said, "Don't beat around the bush."

"Uncle Qiang and I went to the supply and marketing cooperative today," Tan Du said. "We're expecting heavy rain over the next couple of days. The cooperative is located in low-lying terrain, so we had sandbags piled up at the entrance to prevent water leaks. Someone stole them while everyone was busy with the market, and we can't find any replacements right now."

Qiao Zhuo raised an eyebrow: "Then?"

"Today is the last day of the market, and the merchants have moved their goods back home, so there won't be any impact. But the goods in the grain and oil shops..."

"I understand," Qiao Zhuoyi said, "Just keep putting it there."

"Thank you, Boss Qiao." Tan Du smiled.

"No need." Qiao Zhuo glanced at him, "What are we eating tomorrow?"

"What would you like to eat, Boss Qiao?" Tan Du took a few steps closer.

Qiao Zhuo lowered his eyelids and twirled his pen.

Tan Du asked tentatively, "Aquatic products?"

Qiao Zhuoyi said nothing.

Tan Du: "Poultry?"

Qiao Zhuo said nothing.

Tan Du thought about it. He had been cooking light dishes these past two days to cater to the children's tastes. He tentatively said, "How about making something stronger tomorrow? I'll make a separate portion of shrimp for Yueyue and Lele."

As soon as Qiao Zhuo raised his eyelids, Tan Du smiled and said, "Boss Qiao, do you like boiled beef or boiled fish?"

Boss Qiao turned his face away and raised two fingers.

"Understood. See you tomorrow, Boss Qiao."

The next morning, the two little ones rarely called Qiao Zhuo to get up.

When Qiao Zhuo went to their room, the child closed his eyes tightly and his eyelashes trembled.

"Get up when you wake up."

The two of them jumped up, obviously having been holding it in for a long time, but they stood on the bed and did not get down.

"What's wrong?" Qiao Zhuo was surprised.

"Uncle, it's still dark and you can't get up." Qin Yue said, pointing out the window.

Qin Le agreed: "Yes, Mom and Dad said we should sleep well at night."

"It's daytime now," Qiao Zhuo turned his face away and suppressed the corner of his mouth that was raised, "It's raining heavily, so it's dark."

"oh--"

The two children looked at each other and rushed to wash up happily.

The sky was covered with thick dark clouds, and the rain was pouring down like crazy.

The two little ones in raincoats jumped in the puddles and ran around the yard following the blanket like wild horses.

Even though Qiao Zhuo hid under the eaves, he was still splashed with mud.

No wonder he suddenly got so excited. There must be something wrong when things are out of the ordinary.

He sent a message to Xiao Luo, saying that he would not go there in the morning and would call him if he had anything.

So, when Boss Tan came over at noon, he saw three people and a dog covered in mud.

"Okay, let's play cold again."

Qiao Zhuoyi couldn't bear the other party's teasing look and took them to take a shower.

The three of them sat down to eat the delicious meal, and Qiao Zhuo pursed his lips.

"I drove slowly on a rainy day, and all the fresh fish were sold out when I got to the market. I had to make do with it at noon. The fishmonger, Mr. Feng, said he would close his stall and go back to the pond to catch some fish, and send it to me later. I'll make it in the evening," said Tan Du.

Qiao Zhuo's expression brightened slightly, and he buried his head in his meal.

Tan Du was still the first to put down his chopsticks. Qiao Zhuoyi suspected that he was eating just to maintain his vital signs.

Tan Du rested his arms on the back of his chair, his eyes wandering over the few people.

Qiao Zhuo glared at him: "What are you looking at!"

"I didn't expect Boss Qiao to be so childlike."

Qiao Zhuoyi was so hungry after all the torment he endured that he snorted briefly and asked, "Is there any more food?"

"Yes," Tan Du held out his hand, "I'll serve it to you."

"I myself..."

"The steam is hot."

Tan Du took the bowl and stood up, then returned with a full bowl.

After dinner, Tan Du left first. Qiao Zhuo asked Xiao Luo and found out that there were no customers at the moment, so he took a nap with the two kids before leaving.

Rainwater flowed on the glass like small channels, and the wipers squeaked, making Qiao Zhuoyi feel inexplicably uneasy.

Sure enough, when the car was halfway there, Xiao Luo called and said something had happened.

The phone was noisy. Qiao Zhuo frowned and stepped on the accelerator: "Wait for me downstairs, I'll be there soon."

Ginkgo leaves were scattered all over the ground, trampled by the messy footsteps and in tatters.

"What's going on?" Qiao Zhuo rushed into the stairwell and grabbed Xiao Luo and asked.

"Mr. Fan from the grain and oil shop and his son just came over and discovered the roof was leaking. Everything in the third-floor room was flooded, and the rice and flour had mixed together into a paste!" Xiao Luo said quickly, "Then they called a group of people over..."

There was a loud roar from upstairs—

"Has Qiao come yet? Damn it, don't think you'll be alright just by hiding!"

"uncle--"

"Uncle is afraid—"

Qin Yue and Qin Le hid behind Qiao Zhuoyi, who protected them and asked Xiao Luo, "Do they suspect I did it?"

Xiao Luo looked at him and said nothing.

"say!"

Xiao Luo nodded.

Qiao Zhuo glanced at the glass door on the left and saw that there was no light in the store.

"I didn't see Boss Tan and the others in the afternoon. I don't know where they went." Xiao Luo said hurriedly.

Qiao Zhuo threw the car keys to him and said, "Take them to the car, put on some music, and I'll go up and take a look."

"Brother Zhuo, be careful. I just talked for a long time but they didn't listen..."

There were a lot of people crowded in the building, and standing in the front were Uncle Qiang, Old Fan and his son Xiao Fan.

As Qiao Zhuo went upstairs one by one, a group of people looked at him.

"You're such a good fellow, Qiao!" Uncle Qiang rushed over and poked him, "I knew you'd be so kind as to offer the venue for free!"

Qiao Zhuo slapped his hand away: "Who said it was free?"

Uncle Qiang immediately exploded: "Alright, you took the money and destroyed the goods! You little bastard, I thought I shouldn't have said that to you before!"

Lao Fan pushed him aside and said, "If the customer hadn't come to me, I wouldn't have known about it! If you don't want to release it, just tell me directly. How can you do things like that? Those are food! You're not afraid of being struck by lightning for wasting food!"

Xiao Fan followed him with his head down.

"Do you have any evidence to prove that I did it?" Qiao Zhuo raised his voice, his face ashen.

"Who else could it be besides you?!" Uncle Qiang shouted, "I was fine when I went downstairs yesterday, but you went upstairs..."

"I said, I went up there to get something."

"You're lying!" Lao Fan's eyes were bloodshot. "You have to pay me back!"

"Why?" Qiao Zhuo looked at him.

"Uncle Tan! Uncle——"

Qin Yue's cries pierced through the rain, and Qiao Zhuo's face tensed as he shouted downstairs, "Luo Tian! Take them away!"

"You coward! You dare not admit it?" Lao Fan rushed over and grabbed his arm. "You have a child and yet you are so conscienceless. Aren't you afraid of retribution? Pay me money!"

"Shut up!" Qiao Zhuo shook him off, gritting his teeth and saying through a cold sweat, "You didn't check the goods yourself, why should I pay for it?"

The author has something to say:

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I feel wronged! [Cracked]