Qin He doted on Shen Yilin like a younger brother, and the message of concern warmed her heart.
After replying to the message and agreeing with Shen Yilin about the weekend livestream, she browsed her social media feed.
On her feed, Ming Xue had just posted a photo with Gu Ranran.
Qin He watched for a while before putting down her phone to rest.
For the next two days, Qin He woke up lazily and before noon, went to the Western District Joint Department to learn mortise and tenon joinery from Liu Xingan.
As it neared the end of the workday, the master and apprentice would leave early and return home separately.
At three in the afternoon.
Qin He was slumped over the table, meticulously carving a wooden piece.
Liu Xingan sat at the tea table nearby, slowly brewing tea.
"You're truly cut out for this craft. You're quick-witted and can grasp concepts quickly."
Qin He finished the last small wooden piece and blew away the sawdust.
"That just shows your good judgment, Master."
"Don't flatter me. With your belly so big, you still come here to learn every day. You're too diligent." Liu Xingan glanced at Qin He's stomach.
Qin He carefully assembled the various small wooden pieces in her hands.
A beautiful mechanical wooden box appeared in her hands.
The sunlight outside shone on her profile, illuminating her fair skin. Her ink-black eyes held a satisfied smile.
When Gu Qichen pushed the door open, he was slightly taken aback by the scene.
"Young Gu is here," Liu Xingan said with a smile.
"My apprentice just made a puzzle box. Why don't you try to solve it?"
Gu Qichen nodded and walked over to sit beside Qin He.
Qin He also wanted to test her craftsmanship and handed the puzzle box to Gu Qichen.
"Master, did you pick out those houses I showed you last time? Haven't you found one you like?"
Qin He turned to Liu Xingan and asked.
"I've picked two, a villa and a siheyuan," Liu Xingan said. "Your mistress prefers the grape trellises at the villa, but I think a three-story villa would be too lonely for just the two of us. I prefer the siheyuan."
"Isn't that simple? If Mistress likes grape trellises, we can build one in the siheyuan," Qin He said, laughing. "Master, you're a carpenter too. What kind of grape trellis can't you build?"
Just as she finished speaking, there was a click.
She turned to look at Gu Qichen's hands.
The puzzle box, which she had painstakingly designed and made over three days, had been disassembled into a pile of wooden parts in Gu Qichen's hands.
"So fast?" Qin He frowned.
Liu Xingan chuckled.
"It looks like you still have a lot to learn."
Qin He pouted and complained, "It's because he's too smart. He's solved so many of your puzzle boxes that you made yourself. Mine couldn't possibly stump him."
"Although it was easy to solve, the craftsmanship is very fine," Gu Qichen said calmly.
The three chatted for a while, and Liu Xingan took out photos of the two houses he had chosen.
Qin He called Zhou Yang and asked him to get the floor plans for both houses.
After looking at the floor plans, Liu Xingan became even more determined to have the siheyuan.
"Then let's go with the siheyuan. We can build a grape trellis for Mistress later. The courtyard of the siheyuan is also larger, and we can transplant those trees from Mistress's place in L Country," Qin He said, smiling.
Liu Xingan gave Qin He a meaningful look.
He knew his apprentice's intentions clearly. Qin He wanted him to stay in Qingcheng.
"Alright, let's finalize this one," Liu Xingan said with a hearty laugh.
"You handle the house purchase, and I'll transfer the money to you."
Liu Xingan turned and walked to the tea table, opened a drawer, and took out a card, as if it had been prepared long ago.
He placed the card in front of Qin He.
"This should be enough to buy this siheyuan. The rest is for your hard work."
"I can't accept money from you for buying a house for Master," Qin He said, pushing the card back with a smile. "When I became your apprentice, I said that I would take care of Master and Mistress's retirement."
Liu Xingan raised his eyebrows slightly. He didn't say anything more and took the card back.
Qin He sent the address of the siheyuan to Zhou Yang along with the pictures, asking him to help purchase it.
"Brother Yang is always efficient. If all goes well, Master will be able to move in this week."
Liu Xingan nodded, and Qin He turned to look at Gu Qichen.
He was already working on reassembling the puzzle box.
Solving the box was easy, but reassembling it was much harder than disassembling it.
Gu Qichen's fingernails were neatly trimmed, and his long, strong fingers nimbly manipulated the wooden pieces.
He frowned, and when he was near the end, there was one extra wooden piece.
Qin He's mood immediately balanced out.
"It's not assembled like this," she said, taking the extra piece and adopting the air of an experienced craftsman teaching an apprentice. She took the box and explained the principles to Gu Qichen.
Liu Xingan looked up at the two of them.
Qin He was teaching earnestly, but the student's gaze was fixed on Qin He.
Young people are so flashy, Liu Xingan thought with a "tsk."
He turned on the television in the office and found the drama he was watching, continuing to do so.
After Qin He finished explaining to Gu Qichen, she noticed that Liu Xingan was watching the finale of "Jiang Yue Xing."
"It's already at the finale?" Qin He was pleasantly surprised. "Jiang Yue Xing" was a TV drama based on a novel she had written. Although it had finished filming and premiered a while ago, Qin He heard that only one episode was aired per week. Director Li Feng'an had sent her the full set, but she hadn't had time to watch it and planned to wait until it was fully released online to find an opportunity to carefully assess the actors' performances.
"You watch this too?" Liu Xingan smiled. "Besides the old martial arts dramas, this is the only decent one recently."
Qin He excitedly sat next to Liu Xingan to watch the finale. As she had expected, Ming Chi's acting was good. Yin Zi had also perfectly portrayed the martial arts style.
Liu Xingan said while watching the drama, "This drama was directed by Li Feng'an. I heard your Qin Corporation is one of the investors. You must have made quite a profit with its popularity."
Qin He paused for a moment and stealthily glanced at Gu Qichen. Actually, the original investor for this drama was the Gu Corporation. But at that time, Gu Qichen insisted on Song Nuan playing the female lead, so she had Li Feng'an switch investors, and her own company invested.
"We made a little," Qin He said with an embarrassed smile.
Gu Qichen looked up at this moment. "The foundation of this drama lies in its mature script and engaging plot. Jiang Huailin, the author of 'Jiang Yue Xing,' is the one who truly made this drama successful."
Qin He felt praised and was very pleased.
"However, this Jiang Huailin is quite mysterious. You could ask Li Feng'an to contact him and ask him to write a sequel to 'Jiang Yue Xing'," Gu Qichen said.
Qin He thought for a moment. "Let's forget it. He might not have the time."
"You know him?" Liu Xingan asked, showing some interest.
"If you do, please introduce him to me. I think we'd have a lot in common."