Under Zhou Quan's guidance, Zhu Zhu and Qi Lin, in a state of confusion where one could speak but the other could not, formed a guardian contract.
When the family of three returned home, they were surprised to find that they had gone to Lijia Village and brought back a cat that was rather ugly.
"Sister-in-law, is this cat a gift from the people of Lijia Village?" Zhou Tao looked curiously at the cat that Zhuzhu was holding and wanted to reach out and touch it, but unexpectedly, the cat was quite temperamental, baring its teeth at her and not letting her touch it.
Li Mai shook her head and explained the situation, "On our way back, Zhuzhu heard animal cries, so we went into a cave and rescued it."
“Oh, sister-in-law, this is the ugliest cat I’ve ever seen,” Zhou Lei said after observing it for a while.
Li Mai smiled and said, "Yes, it is a bit ugly."
The Qilin was filled with resentment. "You humans are the ugliest!"
You humans can't walk on four legs; you run like a tortoise.
You humans have tiny, ugly ears; you can't hear sounds from several meters away.
You humans have degenerated to the point where you can't even grow a tail, and your attack power has degenerated to the level of a little white rabbit.
Zhuzhu looked around in confusion and asked curiously, "Hey, Mom, where's that child talking?"
Li Mai paused, glanced around, and finally fixed her gaze on the Qilin that Zhu Zhu was holding. Li Mai asked Zhu Zhu, "Is it a boy or a girl? What did it say?"
"I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl. He said we're the ugly ones, that we humans are the ugliest."
They say we can't walk on four legs, and when we run, we crawl like turtles...
As Zhuzhu said this, the whole family's eyes turned to the ugly cat that Zhuzhu was holding.
Li Mai looked at Zhou Quan, who nodded. "It's probably because Zhu Zhu signed a guardian contract with him, so she can understand what he's saying."
"So that's how it is," the whole family understood, and they also found it quite unbelievable.
After learning that Xiaomai could go to a place that was otherwise inaccessible and hide things there, the family felt that they were more knowledgeable than the average villager.
Unexpectedly, after they picked up an ugly cat this time, their strange knowledge grew even more.
These things are truly unbelievable.
But it seems so natural that it happened in my own home.
Moreover, the whole family knew that all these unusual things about their family started after Li Mai married into the family.
Therefore, they all felt that Li Mai was an extraordinary girl, and that their family would listen to her advice from now on, and that things would definitely get better for them.
In the afternoon, Zhou Lin also returned.
He also brought his senior brother back with him. The senior brother drove an oxcart and helped deliver the desk and chair he had made for Zhuzhu.
Li Mai and Zhou Quan then took Zhu Zhu back to their own courtyard.
Zhuzhu said to put the table and chairs directly into her room.
Li Mai then had Zhou Quan and Zhou Lin move into the room they had prepared for Zhuzhu.
Li Mai personally sat down and tried the ancient version of the adjustable chair. Although it was much less flexible than the modern one, it didn't need to be adjusted every day; once a year was enough.
Zhu Zhu placed the Qilin on her table and asked happily, "Little beauty, are you happy?"
The Qilin pretended to be dead and didn't want to talk.
Little Pretty, is this the name you should give to a majestic and powerful mythical beast?
But this is the name his owner gave him when he was only three years old.
She also told her parents that although the kitten was a little ugly, as long as they called him "Little Pretty" a few more times every day, he would definitely grow up to be more and more handsome.
Her twisted parents had no objections, so her name became "Little Pretty," and his objections were useless.
Now, the entire Zhou family, including Zhou Lin who just returned, knows that Zhu Zhu's cat is a bit ugly, but in order to make him grow up to be more handsome, they named him Little Pretty.
Zhou Lin returned, and Zhou Quan and Li Mai had a special talk with him, asking him about his future plans: whether he would open a shop after the New Year or continue learning from his master for another year.
Zhou Quan said that his family is not short of money now, so he doesn't need to consider leaving his master to open a shop in town just to make money for his family.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Lin said, "Brother, then I'll study with my master for another year. My master is getting old, and he said there are still many things he hasn't taught me yet!"
Zhou Quan nodded, "Okay, then I'll make other arrangements for Zhou Lei."
Zhou Lin suddenly realized and quickly asked, somewhat embarrassed, "Big brother, won't that affect me? If not, I'll open a shop in town so I can stay with you while I study."
“No need for that. Your sister-in-law has already bought a house in town. Xiao Lei can live with us while he goes to school,” Zhou Quan said.
"Brother, is that house big? Do we need to buy a few people to look after it? I heard that the families living in mansions in town all need to hire servants," Zhou Lin asked excitedly.
Zhou Quan nodded, "We should buy a few, after all, your sister-in-law and I often travel between the village and the town."
Zhou Lin responded with an "oh," still somewhat dazed. He could clearly feel that his family was very different from before.
"Aren't your parents going?" Zhou Lin asked.
Zhou Quan shook his head. "No, we'll use that place as our home when we do business, just to avoid exposing our parents and siblings to the world. If a business rival tries to use despicable means against our family, I'm afraid we won't be able to save them in time."
"Oh, I understand. My brother is doing this to protect his family." Zhou Lin nodded. He understood what his brother and sister-in-law meant.
Knowing that he was sensible, Zhou Quan and his wife were very happy.
“Then you should study with your master for another year this year. We’ll start a business in town, and after you graduate next year, we’ll help you open a shop,” Li Mai instructed Zhou Lin.
"Yes, sister-in-law!" Zhou Lin replied happily. "These are the blueprints for this chair. Sister-in-law, my master said he wanted to ask you if we can continue making this chair in the future?"
Li Mai nodded, "Of course you can. Go ahead and make it. You can make and sell it when you open your own shop later."
Zhou Lin was relieved to hear this and thanked his sister-in-law again.
The New Year has arrived, and this is Li Mai's first New Year in this world.
In that dilapidated world, the only traditional activity they retained on the Spring Festival was making dumplings.
Other traditional customs are gone, they've all been lost!
There is the inevitable outcome of the passage of time, and also the helplessness of not being able to adapt to the circumstances after hundreds of years of vicissitudes in the end times.
The Zhou family has a very important activity in the morning: going to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com