Gou Zai Qingluo Cave Heaven Cultivation

As dawn broke, the sky began to lighten, revealing a pale, fish-belly white hue.

Zhou Baoqing was inspecting the "results" of his cousin Zhao Yuanqiu's all-night work.

One hundred copies of "Zhou Xue Xun Jie" (a set of teachings by Zhou Enlai), a thick stack of books.

He flipped through it casually; Zhao Yuanqiu's handwriting was really not good, crooked and twisted, like rows of crawling black ants.

But this suited Zhou Baoqing's wishes perfectly, because Zhou Changping's handwriting was also exactly the same dog-scratching style.

"Cousin, if there's ever another job like this, just call me!"

Zhao Yuanqiu savored the delicious spirit rice cake, his eyes shining, and volunteered.

"Are you hoping I'll be punished by the teacher to copy texts every day?"

Zhou Baoqing was speechless. He hadn't told his cousin that this was for the chubby boy to copy, so he explained, "This was for someone else to copy, not for me to be punished."

"Oh, I get it, I get it."

Zhao Yuanqiu was taken aback, then immediately spoke, but judging from the flickering expression in his eyes, it was clear that he did not believe Zhou Baoqing's words at all.

Zhou Baoqing shook his head helplessly. It seemed that he had made his cousin help him copy the punishments too many times before, and his image as a troublemaker had already been deeply ingrained in the other's mind.

It will be a long and arduous task to change this stereotype.

"Bao-ge'er, Yuan-qiu, what are you two whispering about?"

Zhao Fanghua, holding a large soup ladle, looked at the two suspiciously, but Zhou Baoqing had already put away the punishment copy. Seeing that she couldn't figure anything out, Zhao Fanghua said, "Come and eat, the porridge is getting cold!"

…………

After breakfast, Zhou Baoqing went out as usual, carrying his book box.

As we approached the stone bridge, we spotted Zhou Changping, the chubby boy, from afar. Early in the morning, he was gnawing on a braised pig's trotter, his mouth dripping with oil.

The pig's trotters smelled wonderfully of soy sauce, and the skin was so glossy and translucent from stewing that it was clearly a delicacy cooked with the finest spices.

Although eating such greasy food so early in the morning is hardly healthy, Zhou Baoqing drank a bowl of spirit rice porridge with two pickled vegetables in the morning.

The aroma of the braised meat was so enticing that I couldn't help but swallow hard, my mouth watering.

It's true what they say, comparisons are odious. I, a poor wretch, can only envy the life of this rich young master.

Here, that's what you wanted.

Zhou Baoqing stepped forward and slapped the stack of punishment papers into Zhou Changping's arms.

Zhou Changping didn't even wipe the oil off his hands before hurriedly flipping through the book and glancing at it. He immediately frowned and said with disdain, "Oh dear, how come the handwriting is so ugly? It looks like a dog's paddle."

Zhou Baoqing was speechless for a moment, then glanced at him sideways: "Don't you have any idea how ugly your handwriting is? With this handwriting, Zhou Xuezheng is sure not to recognize that it was written by someone else."

Too lazy to argue with this idiot, he shrugged and said bluntly, "Alright, enough nonsense, where's my fish?"

Zhou Changping chuckled, tossed the pig's trotter bone into the water, and then pulled a long-necked, large-bellied white porcelain bottle from his book box.

Zhou Baoqing looked closely and saw that the vase was decorated with a painting of peonies and beautiful women, and he was immediately dumbfounded: "Are you crazy? Why did you bring a vase from home to use as a fish basket?"

"Hey, you just don't understand!"

Zhou Changping proudly raised his chin, "These spirit fish fry are very delicate. If you put them in ordinary wooden buckets or earthenware jars, they'll flip belly up after a few bumps on the road. But this one I'm holding is a genuine magic artifact! It contains a universe within, locking in spiritual energy and gathering vital energy, making it perfect for storing fish fry."

Zhou Baoqing was stunned.

What is meant by a wealthy family?

This is what you call a wealthy family!

Even vases used for flower arranging are considered sacred objects!

Then I think about my own family. We had to sell everything we owned just to barely afford to send him to a clan school. It's incomparable.

He peered into the bottle opening and saw the water rippling gently, with about twenty small blue-scaled fish swimming happily inside.

But he quickly frowned: "Why are these blue-scaled fish fry so small? They're like toothpicks."

This is no exaggeration. Even the worst bluefin fry at home are at least the length of a forearm, while the ones in this bottle are at most the length of a finger.

Zhou Changping retorted indignantly, "Those big fish fry were all on the family's books, how could I dare take them? If even one was missing and my father found out, he'd whip my backside until it was bruised and battered! Getting these small fish fry out of here was already a life-threatening effort on my part!"

Oh well, small is small. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

Zhou Baoqing thought about it and decided that the spirit fish fry were different from others, so it was best to put them in the bag for safety.

Furthermore, this ritual vase is very valuable; if it were accidentally knocked or damaged, even selling it wouldn't be enough to compensate for the damage.

He immediately said, "Okay, wait for me at the bridgehead for a while, I'll take the fish back to my fishpond right away."

After saying that, Zhou Baoqing picked up the vase and walked quickly toward his fishpond.

Once his figure had completely disappeared into a patch of reeds half a person's height, and he was sure that the chubby boy and the other passersby could not see him, he moved his mind and, along with the bottle, directly vanished into the Green Snail Cave.

Azure dome, tranquil waters.

Zhou Baoqing stood on the raft and carefully tilted the magical vase, pouring about twenty finger-sized blue-scaled fish fry into the spiritual water.

The fish fry were startled when they entered the water, but then, feeling the nourishment of the blessed land and its spiritual water, they immediately began to swim happily in all directions, clearly very satisfied with this vast new world.

Zhou Baoqing turned his head and looked at the bamboo ring fixed to the edge of the raft.

Overnight, a smaller new leaf actually sprouted from the edge of the ice-blue duckweed leaf.

"As expected, it is a mutated spiritual plant that can reproduce."

Zhou Baoqing was overjoyed, thinking, "I mustn't let these little gluttonous fish eat my precious duckweed."

Fortunately, he had learned his lesson from the red-tailed koi yesterday and was prepared.

Below the bamboo woven ring, a finely woven net was specially made of hemp rope and suspended underwater.

Even if the fish fry smell the scent and swim over, they are blocked outside by the net and cannot get in.

Looking at the lively fish fry and duckweed in the water, Zhou Baoqing was full of anticipation.

Once these fish fry have grown in the spiritual water and the duckweed has multiplied, we can at least enjoy a comfortable life, if not great wealth and prosperity.

At the very least, Grandpa can afford to brew new tea, my cousin can afford to attend the clan school, and the family doesn't have to sell their pots and pans, scrimp and save, or live a life of extreme poverty.

After doing all this, Zhou Baoqing slipped out of the cave, strolled back to the stone bridge, and returned the vase to Zhou Changping.

"And this, I almost forgot, here you go!"

Zhou Changping took the vase and then pulled out a fist-sized oil paper package from his pocket and handed it over.

Zhou Baoqing opened it and found a packet of spirit fish food.

The fish food is dark brown in color, with plump and round pellets. As soon as it is opened, it emits a rich, sweet and fishy medicinal aroma. Upon closer inspection, it seems to also have a hint of the fresh scent of celestial herbs, which is completely different from ordinary fish food.

Zhou Changping said proudly, "This fish food contains spirit bone powder, water spirit grass, and several other highly nourishing spiritual ingredients. It's meticulously prepared! Eating this will guarantee your fish grow plump and strong!"

"Oh?"

Zhou Baoqing asked curiously, "What is the specific ratio of the spirit bone powder and water spirit grass? Are there any other auxiliary ingredients needed?"

Zhou Changping was taken aback by the question. He opened his mouth, stammered for a long time, and said incoherently, "Uh, it's roughly a spoonful of bone powder, half a handful of spirit herbs, anyway, just mix it all together..."

Zhou Baoqing understood.

The fish food in Qinglin Bay is mostly prepared with standardized proportions, rather than being made arbitrarily by individual fishpond owners.

Although the main ingredients are roughly the same and everyone knows the general idea, the detailed proportions and cooking time are trade secrets.

Seeing that Zhou Baoqing wasn't pressing the issue, Zhou Changping felt a bit embarrassed, realizing he'd just overstated himself, and said:

"When school's out for break, I'll take you to ask Uncle Zhang! He's a master at preparing spirit fish food; his skills are among the best in Qinglin Bay!"

"Okay, it's settled then."

Zhou Baoqing readily agreed.

He was indeed quite curious about the method of preparing this spirit fish food. If he could master it himself, he could save a lot of costs when he started aquaculture in the cave.