Chapter 430: Mayfly

Relying on the fact that he was a famous mental patient and everyone knew he had a game system, Qin Huai clicked on the game system to check the illustrated handbook column right in front of Zhao Cheng'an.

A new item was added to the illustrated handbook column.

Unlocked illustrated handbook: 10/12

The lit-up illustrated handbook was Zhao Cheng'an's avatar. Click in.

Name: Zhao Cheng'an

Species: Mayfly

Status:???

Dream: 0/?

Recipe: None

Gift: None

*Eh? *

*Mayfly? *

*The status is actually still three question marks. *

This was the first time Qin Huai had unlocked such a strange illustrated handbook. The species had already been unlocked, but the status couldn't be unlocked.

Qin Huai knew about mayflies—representative creatures that live in the morning and die in the evening, often cited by the ancients to describe the shortness of life and the transience of life.

The most famous poem about mayflies that Qin Huai knew was: "Sending a mayfly to the heaven and earth, a tiny grain in the vast sea."

Regarding the species of mayfly, Qin Huai actually had a certain understanding. Qin Huai's high school biology teacher briefly mentioned it in class. Mayflies seem to have a very short life, referring to the short life of the adult stage, which can live for as short as one day or even a few hours. However, the nymph stage of the mayfly grows in water, and the nymph stage is between a few months and a year, which is not really "living in the morning and dying in the evening."

In general, the mayfly is a very ancient creature that existed in ancient times and was often cited by many literati to write poems or articles. It has a great reputation, unlike creatures like the *Jujun*, where if you say the name, others will ask you what pig, what *Qu*, what cricket—creatures with no reputation at all.

Qin Huai now only had one question.

Are mayflies also spirit creatures in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*?

*Is the Classic of Mountains and Seas so comprehensive? *

Qin Huai couldn't help but look at Zhao Cheng'an with a probing gaze. Zhao Cheng'an didn't notice at all that Qin Huai had virtually clicked open the game system before. He was studying the painting *My Younger Brother* on the wall with great interest, looking like he couldn't wait to study the painting thoroughly.

"Eh, Qin Huai, did you take a fancy to this painting because you think this painting is particularly warm and reminds you of your sister? If you look at it from this angle, I think this painting still has merits. Although the painting is very ordinary, the composition is very ordinary, the color is very ordinary, the technology is very ordinary, and even the paper and pigments are very ordinary, but it wins in being cheap, and it does have unique features. In case this author becomes famous in the future, maybe this painting will rise several times in 10 or 8 years, which can be considered a successful investment."

Qin Huai closed the illustrated handbook column: "I don't think so. My sister couldn't possibly be doing her homework so diligently at the desk. It would be good if she didn't secretly play with her phone behind our backs."

"I just think this painting is quite pleasing to the eye. The person in the painting looks kind and has a sense of intimacy, so I looked at it a few more times." Qin Huai said.

Qin Huai didn't tell the truth either. He just strolled around in this art museum and felt that every painting was about the same, and there was nothing particularly liked. After all, they were all student works, and it was very difficult for ordinary people like Qin Huai, who originally had no aesthetics and whose aesthetics had been strongly impacted during this period, to have a masterwork that made his eyes shine.

However, what Zhao Cheng'an said just now was right: the biggest advantage of this painting was that it was cheap. 1800 really wasn't expensive. Just to prove to Master Zhou that the books he had read during this period hadn't been read in vain and that he had cultivated a certain aesthetic, Qin Huai didn't mind spending 1800 to buy such a painting to send to Qin Luo.

It just so happened to urge Luo Luo to study hard and let her see how the younger brother of the art academy student was doing his homework at the desk. *How are you doing your homework? People's eyes are both staring at the test paper, what are your eyes staring at? *

The four words "eyes empty" were simply too suitable to describe Qin Luo when she was doing her homework.

Zhao Cheng'an suddenly realized: "I understand. It's just that this painting is particularly eye-catching, right? Buying paintings is how you should buy them. Believe in your own vision. How about this? I'll pay the 1800, just as a meeting gift for you. Last time I said I would treat you to a meal, but in the end, I didn't eat a single bite of the snacks I made. I gnawed on the remaining dumplings at home for 5 days, and I really couldn't stand the fried pumpkin cake in the end, so I sent it to my parents' house. My mom even complained that the pumpkin cake was soft and not good to eat."

"That pumpkin cake being soft and not good to eat can't be blamed on me, right? It wasn't made by me; I bought the semi-finished product at the supermarket. If you want to blame, blame the manufacturer!" Zhao Cheng'an said with great justification. Just when Qin Huai thought he was going to spray the manufacturer, Zhao Cheng'an directly changed the subject. "Qin Huai, I have one thing to ask of you."

"When the time comes, keep the invoice for buying the painting well. Don't show it to my master. If Master asks, just say this painting was bought for 3600."

"Before coming, Master said that if there were any paintings I liked, I should buy them for you, and he would reimburse them."

Qin Huai:...

*Not a brother, you are already a spirit creature, and you still want to make fake accounts and engage in corruption, fleecing 1800 yuan more from your master. *

*You are a mayfly, not a Pixiu, nor a Three-Legged Golden Toad. Have you lost so much in stocks, funds, antiques, and art investments over the years? Are you so short of money that you are in this state? *

"I... I will pretend I don't know." Qin Huai said tactfully.

Zhao Cheng'an was a bit regretful, but thinking about it, he felt it was understandable. After all, the 1800 he embezzled wouldn't be shared with Qin Huai, so he softened his tone and said: "That's fine too. You just pretend you don't know; I'll handle the rest."

Looking at Zhao Cheng'an like this, Qin Huai really felt that he didn't look much like a spirit creature; he was a bit too much like a human. Mainly, he didn't see any obsession in certain aspects. The only obsession might be not wanting to be trapped in one place and work honestly, always wanting to go out and play.

This was also understandable. Not to mention spirit creatures, aren't humans like this too? If they could, who would want to be trapped in one place and work honestly? Who wouldn't want to go out and play? Who wouldn't want to travel around the world? Who wouldn't want to buy, buy, buy?

"Brother Cheng'an, do you know about mayflies?" Qin Huai asked.

Zhao Cheng'an's eyes lit up: "Mayfly? What mayfly? Is there another painting called 'Mayfly' behind it? You also took a fancy to that painting? That's great, take me to see it quickly. Is that painting expensive? If it's too expensive, I don't think there's any need to buy it. It's best if the price is around 3000. When the time comes, I'll report 5000. I usually buy paintings at about this price."

Qin Huai:...

"If Master Zhou knows..."

"Master knows." Zhao Cheng'an said open-mindedly. "The amount of snacks I make usually isn't much, and going out to play, including investments and buying these messy things, is very expensive. Money is not enough, and Master has always known."

"Master is not short of money, and he has subsidies for the three of us usually. It's just that the way he gives subsidies to the two senior brothers and sisters is relatively aboveboard. For example, buying nutritional supplements for the children of the senior brothers and sisters, reporting for tutoring classes, introducing interest class teachers, or directly giving red envelopes."

"But I'm not married, have no children, and even less of a partner. Master can't subsidize me in these messy places, fearing that it will encourage the unhealthy trend of me playing around every day and not having my heart on making snacks. So Master will use this method to quietly subsidize me. As long as I don't report the accounts too outrageously, he basically turns a blind eye."

Qin Huai was a bit stunned.

Zhao Cheng'an said with a smile: "I know, it's very difficult for you who have no master to understand our way of getting along. The way of apprenticing at Zhi Wei Ju is very traditional. Master chefs never easily take apprentices. Once they take an apprentice, they have to serve tea and go through the apprenticeship ceremony. During the entire apprenticeship period, the apprentice basically has no salary. The master has to manage the apprentice's food, clothing, housing, and transportation, give red envelopes during festivals, and teach the apprentice technology. The master is the apprentice's backing, and at the same time, the apprentice is the master's face." ===== CHAPTER 431 =====