Huancheng Shen Shen

Capítulo 20

"I'm asking you, we call a white horse a white horse, right?"

"right!"

"What about the black horse?"

"A dark horse!"

"Ling'er is so clever! What about the black and white horse?"

"Huh?" Lu Ling was dumbfounded. He scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then said with certainty, "Big Flower Horse!"

Song Xiaohua's hand holding the pen trembled slightly.

Zebras may still be a very rare species in this era, so the silly boy must have directly used the neighbor's black and white tabby cat as a model.

Hmm, not bad, not bad. That's quite an example of applying what you've learned to other situations, showing a lot of creative thinking!

"Calling him Big Flower Horse...you're right!"

As Song Xiaohua spoke, she scribbled a few lines on the paper, sketching an outline—abstract, with a postmodern style. Looking closely, it resembled… that little horse from 'Happy Farm' that wanders around…

"Ling'er, look, these are big spotted horses. They also have another name: zebras."

Lu Ling leaned over to take a look, and immediately burst into laughter, "Mommy, why is it so ugly?"

"It's not that it's ugly, it's that I drew it... well, okay, this kind of horse is indeed very ugly..."

Song Xiaohua hugged the little dumpling who was laughing so hard she could barely sit still, and kissed her twice: "Okay, okay, stop laughing. I have one last question! So, what kind of horse has patterns on its body that are made up of black, white and red stripes?"

This time, Lu Ling answered without hesitation: "The big flower horse!"

"...Although it can't be said that you're wrong... let's try a different answer!"

"Hmm... a tricolor horse!"

"…………"

See? This is the result of battling a little kid who has never experienced the baptism of 'perverted' brain teasers. Song Xiaohua looked at Song Wuque, who was lying on the table yawning boredly, speechless, and burst into tears.

"Daddy's back!" Lu Ling, of course, had no idea of the 'misery' in Song Xiaohua's heart at this moment. He jumped down from her arms and ran towards the person who had just pushed open the door to enter the courtyard.

"Was Ling'er a good girl today?"

"Ling'er is the best girl!"

"Your own words don't count."

"If Daddy doesn't believe me, just ask Mommy~ Mommy practices calligraphy with Ling'er, oh right, Mommy even gives Ling'er riddles to guess!"

"Really? So, did Ling'er guess correctly?"

"Ling'er guessed them all correctly!"

"Ha! What a big mouth you have. Look at you, your little tail is practically wagging in the air."

"Is it true? If you don't believe me, ask your mother!"

Lu Ziqi held Ling'er in his arms, and the father and son asked and answered questions. The final topic turned to Song Xiaohua, who was busy putting away her bad handwriting and ugly paintings.

"Yaoyao, is it as Ling'er said?"

"Huh?...Oh...Hmm..." Song Xiaohua once again used her best technique of dodging the question with a single syllable.

"Huh? Is this a painting?" Lu Ziqi immediately spotted the abstract painting that hadn't yet been 'destroyed' and reached out to pick it up: "Hmm... Ling'er, your big tabby cat painting... is not bad!"

Song Xiaohua was speechless, tears streaming down her face.

"No, Daddy, this is a big flowered horse that Mommy painted!"

"...This is...a horse?"

“That’s right! Mother said it also has a name… um… what was it again? Mother, Ling’er has forgotten.”

Song Xiaohua gave a weak hum: "Zebra."

Lu Ziqi raised an eyebrow, looked at the painting again, and showed a hint of surprise.

He had only seen a few words describing this kind of horse in a book of strange tales from distant lands. How did she know about it?

"Was the riddle you gave related to zebras?"

Song Xiaohua's eyes darted around, and she immediately perked up. If she couldn't fool her son, she could fool her father. The son's debts were the father's responsibility, right...?

"Listen up, now I'll test you! A white horse is called a white horse, a black horse is called a black horse, and a black and white horse, like the one in your hand, is called a zebra. So, what kind of horse is a horse with black, white, and red stripes?"

"Are there really such horses in the world?" Lu Ziqi pondered for a moment, then shook his head, confirming that he had never seen one in any book.

Lu Ling was immediately overjoyed: "Daddy, it's a tricolor horse!"

Song Xiaohua was a hundred times more smug than Lu Ling: "Now I'm going to reveal the correct answer! Ta-da! The answer is, the shy zebra!"

Lu Ling was clueless and remained bewildered.

Lu Ziqi stared in disbelief, then chuckled softly, and then burst into laughter.

Oh my god, good heavens, Amitabha! I can't look, I can't look! If I keep looking, I'm going to pounce on you! Aaaaaah...

Song Xiaohua covered her eyes and clutched her chest, suppressing her rampant 'wolf-like' nature, and rushed into the kitchen with her head down.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Cooking March

After two arguments and one "wall-climbing" incident, Song Xiaohua's life entered a period of stability.

The family of three, or rather, with Song Wuque, they were a family of four, living a harmonious and loving life.

Eating, sleeping, grocery shopping, cooking, reading, practicing calligraphy, cleaning the room, taking care of the kids—simple and peaceful is the best way to live, without any unnecessary trouble...

Song Xiaohua had only just realized that she, who was used to a life of constant running around and being busy all the time, actually had a knack for being a housewife. Facing such a calm and uneventful life, she not only did not find it boring at all, but gradually began to enjoy it.

Lu Ziqi bought a set of calligraphy supplies for both her and Lu Ling, so they could practice calligraphy by following the model books. If he had time after dinner, he would also give them some pointers.

Song Xiaohua recognizes far more characters than Lu Ling, but her handwriting... well, according to Lu Ziqi, is...

Completely unconventional, with the brush flowing freely—this is a level of artistry that few can achieve.

Song Xiaohua summarized and translated it; it's actually very simple, it can be summarized in four words—

It's a complete mess.

Originally, Song Xiaohua thought Lu Ziqi was a 'scheming wolf,' but later she realized she was completely wrong. This person wasn't 'scheming' at all; he was simply 'sharp-tongued,' no, no, he was downright 'poisonous-tongued'!

A few days ago, Song Xiaohua's unfortunate finger finally recovered, so she was eager to get back to cooking and show off her skills.

With the observation and learning I've gained from following Lu Ziqi these past few days, and with my IQ of at least 150, I'm confident that making a delicious and flavorful home-cooked meal will be a piece of cake.

After a flurry of activity and a well-organized process, Song Xiaohua quickly prepared a dish: stir-fried shredded potatoes—well, actually, potato chunks…

There's no way around it; once you've been cut into meat, you're afraid of a kitchen knife for ten years! It's already quite an achievement to be able to cut it into an irregular polygon while trembling uncontrollably.

Just as it was cooked, Lu Ziqi arrived home, and Song Xiaohua immediately presented it to him like a treasure, eagerly awaiting his evaluation with starry eyes.

Lu Ziqi took it, glanced at it, smelled it, and tasted it. Then, he frowned and spat it out.

"What is this? It tastes awful!"

Song Xiaohua clenched her fists and spat out each word through her teeth: "Tu, Dou, Si".

"You did this?"

"Yes."

"Too much salt, too little oil, overcooked, and the knife skills were lacking."

"You...you..."

"My cooking skills still need a lot of practice."

After delivering a concluding remark, Lu Ziqi turned and relit the fire in the stove.

Standing behind him, Song Xiaohua's temple veins were throbbing so hard she really wanted to kick him into a big pot and boil him alive...

"Hey! Aren't you being a little too disrespectful to me?!"

"What?"

Even if it doesn't taste good, you don't have to be so blunt!

"Why?"

"You...you couldn't...couldn't you just lie to me? Like, pretend it was delicious and eat it all?! You see in novels and on TV...that's how it's always portrayed in those plays, isn't it?!"

Damn it, why do those melodramatic plots, which are so commonplace, fail to work when it comes to Song Xiaohua? Why?!

Lu Ziqi turned and glanced at her: "Do you think it makes sense to do this?"

"Yes... I guess so..."