Ambiguous misunderstanding

  The next day, when Zhang Jin was holding the black crystal and wandering around various home appliance stores in a very unglamorous manner, Ye Meng and the other three Little Red Hats from the same dormitory gathered again at the Stray Animal Shelter after signing in at the Little Red Hat workstation, planning to do their last day of volunteer work before dispersing and heading back home.

  "What, it's been adopted so quickly? Does that person look fierce or not? Does he look like a bad guy? Does he look like a butcher? Does he look like an abuser? Do you think he will treat the little dog well?" When Ye Meng found out that her favorite yellow puppy, which hadn't even opened its eyes yesterday, had been adopted, she fired off a string of questions at the shelter administrator.

  The administrator of the adoption center was also confused, "Don't you know? The adopter is that man who came to see you yesterday! Didn't he tell you?"

  "Ah?" Ye Meng was stunned.

  At this time, Guo Jin Qiu, who had been listening to the conversation between the two people beside him, felt that he had once again found evidence to verify his reasoning from last night. He spoke to Ye Meng in a ambiguous tone: "Third sister, how about it? Didn't I say that big brother wasn't wrong? I said he had a crush on you! He saw how much you liked that dog, so he must have deliberately brought it back for you. Aren't you very happy?"

  Ye Meng, although very unconventional, was even more eccentric and over-the-top in Zhang Jin's eyes. However, when it came to many things, she was shrewd and cunning, but regarding the uncharted territory of emotions, she was still a blank slate. Especially when this complicated emotion landed on her own head, she was even more bewildered, "But why didn't he agree yesterday when I told him to adopt me?"

  Even Meiyu's eyebrows couldn't help but look down on Ye Meng's dullness, jumping out to say: "Dumb, this is not simple, he must want to give you a surprise!"

  At this time, the simple and innocent Chun also said in a serious tone, as if reciting from memory: "Giving her unexpected surprises that bring hope is the most romantic thing!" This sentence was something the little girl had read in a magazine. Although she was even more clueless about love than Ye Meng, she had long been deeply yearning for this beautiful sentiment.

  Then Ye Meng was certain, and with a smile, she took out her phone. Seeing Ye Meng's fingers dancing quickly on the keyboard, Guo Jin Qiu hastily stopped her, "Old three, what are you doing?"

  "Of course we have to call him and thank him!" Ye Meng said with a happy smile.

  Guo Jin Qiu, who had never been in love before, put on a romantic expert's face and said to Ye Meng in an unyielding tone: "Fool, Old Two has already said it, he wants to give you a surprise. Old Four has also said that this is romance. If you make this call, wouldn't you be ruining the romance? Don't you think it's a pity?"

  "What? Oh! Then what should I do?" Ye Meng was at a loss.

  Mei Mei also put on a teaching tone and said, "Alas, it's often said that women in love have an IQ of zero. Just look at Lao San's current state and you'll know this saying isn't wrong. Usually so clever and cunning, a girl with the potential to grow into a top-notch shrew! Can't even think through such a simple problem? Let me tell you instead."

  Of course, pretend to be unaware. When he surprises you, you still have to make a surprised look as if you didn't know in advance! At that time, whether it's a hug of thanks, a kiss of thanks or something deeper, it's up to you to choose."

  Ye Meng looked at Guo Jin Qiu and Chu Qing with inquiring eyes, and the two girls also nodded heavily to express their agreement with Mei Mei's opinion. Moreover, Guo Jin Qiu added another point of view: "And it's best if you don't take the initiative to contact him during this period, nor go to his home. Otherwise, it will be easy to expose."

  "What if he doesn't contact me either?" Ye Meng felt a little anxious again.

  Mei Mei was exasperated by Ye Meng's silly expression, "How can you be so stupid? Think about it, he wants to surprise you, how could he not contact you? He must be waiting for the right moment to reveal this surprise!"

  Ye Meng's IQ was indeed zero, Mei Mei had already said it so clearly, but she still asked stupidly: "What good timing?"

  Her eyebrows furrowed in anger, she gritted her teeth and said: "Valentine's Day, Qixi Festival, your birthday and all that, you're going to be stupid to death."

  Under the advice of her three dormitory sisters, Ye Meng made up her mind to wait for the romantic love she had been longing for. She never thought that her three sisters were also inexperienced in love affairs, just like herself. This kind of ability cultivated by soap operas and melodramas was reliable? To say the least, Ye Meng asking these three emotional fools to be her love advisors was like inviting Zhao Kuo and Jiang Gan as military strategists during a war, and listening to their advice, which was a typical case of asking the blind for directions and discussing military tactics on paper!

  *

  Although it was a bit of a drag for Ye Meng, who was waiting for excitement and romance, the days seemed to pass slowly. However, for Zhang Jin, who had been busy non-stop, time flew by quickly. Buying electrical appliances and furniture, stocking up on feed for breeding, ordering fish and poultry seedlings, ordering tree saplings... When the calendar reached the end of July, Zhang Jin had already moved into his home in Haiwazi Village and started living a leisurely vacation-like life.

  This afternoon, Zhang Jin ate lunch and lay on the recliner in the hall on the second floor, dozing off. The floor-to-ceiling doors of the second-floor hall facing the sea were wide open, and the gentle sea breeze blew in, making Zhang Jin feel his whole body relax, not even wanting to move his little finger, feeling extremely comfortable. Ah, under the scorching sun of July, after drinking enough wine and eating enough food, lying on the recliner and enjoying the natural air conditioning of the sea, what a pleasant thing it is!

  Pets follow their masters, this is not false. Not far from Zhang Jin's side, on another recliner, Hei Shui Jing was lying on it with his eyes closed, dozing off! The comfortable expression with his eyes closed was almost identical to Zhang Jin's.

  It's hard not to marvel at the growth of Hei Shui Jing. Just look at this little puppy that hasn't even been weaned yet, under Zhang Jin's master-level training and care, it has grown from the size of a palm to over a foot long in such a short period of time. Moreover, its sparse yellow fur is shiny and bright, and in the sunlight, it can even emit a dazzling golden light that's almost blinding.

  Just as Zhang Jin was about to fall asleep, he heard a lively tune that sounded like it came from a music box, faintly ringing in his ear. After slightly distinguishing the sound, he confirmed that it was his phone on the bedside table in his bedroom ringing.

  Lazy Zhang Jin had no intention of getting up at all, and simply called out casually: "Xingxing, go help me get my phone."

  Hei Shui Jing was a diligent and hardworking good comrade, hearing the master's orders it let out a light cry, then jumped down from the couch, pitter-patter running to Zhang Jin's bedroom. Soon it returned to Zhang Jin's side with a phone in its mouth.

  Hei Shui Jing's cleverness has always been something that Zhang Jin is proud of. Whose pet can be as clever and smart as Hei Shui Jing at such a young age? And Hei Shui Jing is not like those well-trained dogs, which can do various things only because they have been trained repeatedly to develop conditioned reflexes and habits. But Hei Shui Jing is truly an intelligent fellow who understands his master's requirements!

  But if Zhang Jin's former little aunt, who is full of love and kindness, were to see this scene, she would not only be delighted by Hei Shuijing's cleverness and intelligence, but also launch a fierce attack on Zhang Jin, accusing him of being cruel to children. "You're so heartless, you make a puppy that's not even a month old work for you just because you're lazy! You have no compassion, no sense of respect for the elderly or care for the young!" This is what the little aunt would say with indignation, advocating for equality between humans and dogs in this "harmonious society".

  He took the phone from Hei Shui Jing's mouth, picked it up and put it on his belly to sleep. Zhang Jin stroked Hei Shui Jing's smooth back with one hand and answered the phone with the other, "Hello, I'm Zhang Jin." His voice was weak when he answered the phone, apparently his spirit hadn't fully recovered from being blown by the sea breeze.

  "Hello, I'm Liu, the logistics manager of Shenzhen ** Special Aquatic Products Company. The fish seedlings you ordered from our company have arrived and can be delivered to Haiwoshi Village this afternoon. What time would be convenient for delivery this afternoon?" On the other end of the phone was a middle-aged man with a strong voice, his crisp tone forming a sharp contrast with Zhang Jin's laziness.

  The voice on the phone made Zhang Jin immediately wake up, and he sat up in his recliner, "Anytime is fine, I'll be in the village all afternoon! When can you deliver it?"

  "Hmm... the road to Haiwocun Village is not very good, I estimate we won't arrive too early, probably around 4 pm? Is that okay with you?"

  "Alright, no problem, call me when you arrive at the village entrance and I'll come pick you up!"

  …………

  He put down the phone, and Zhang Jin completely lost his desire to continue sleeping. He carefully moved the black crystal that had started to get dizzy again to another recliner, and without caring about the scorching sun outside, he picked up the water pump and hose that had been prepared long ago in the tool room on the first floor, and rushed out with his head down.

  In a few hours, the fish seedlings will arrive, but so far, Zhang Jin's small fish pond in the backyard is just a pit! Fortunately, there are still several hours left, and the water to be taken is from Hanshui Creek, which is adjacent to the fish pond. Although Zhang Jin's water pump has low power, it can still fill half of the pool with enough water for the fish seedlings to survive before they arrive. After all, the fish seedlings ordered by Zhang Jin can be transported in a small van, and each fish is only the size of a little finger, so how much water can they use before they grow up?

  Seeing Zhang Jin busy by the big pit that was to be made into a fish pond, Hai Ju Li, an old man who had been resting in the melon shed on the other side of the small river, also came out and shouted: "Xiao Zhang, what are you busy with? Are you going to fill the pond with water?"

  Zhang Jin used to think that Hai Jufu was the most honest and rustic farmer in China, but after handling the wedding of Hai Jufu's second son and meeting many people from this village, he discovered that Hai Jufu, who he thought was the most honest person in the world, was actually one of the most cunning people among the older generation in this simple village. It's no wonder that such an honest person like Hai Jufu could become the leader of the whole village.

  Just like Hai Ju Fu's younger brother, Hai Ju Li is an even more down-to-earth person. Because of his sincerity and lack of pretence, Zhang Jin developed a very good impression of this honest and genuine old man after just a few interactions. So when Hai Ju Li asked him, Zhang Jin didn't have the usual feeling of distance and unfamiliarity he had when interacting with strangers in the city, and replied warmly: "Yes, isn't it almost time for the fish fry to arrive? If we don't fill the pond with water, there will be nowhere to raise them. If they all suffocate, won't that be a waste?"