Qin Xiaoxia hadn’t cooked much since Old Qin passed away, but his skills were undeniably top-tier for a layman.

It was more than enough to handle a sheltered foodie like Doudou.

However, after their pleasant lunch, Doudou grew anxious.

Qin Xiaoxia had scared him so badly before that he’d developed a complex, making Doudou exceptionally resistant to going outside.

But today, Qin Xiaoxia had to go clean the old house on the other side of the Winding Loach River.

This was a habit he’d kept since Old Qin was alive. Besides, he was counting on that sizable old house to make his fortune after he turned forty, so he couldn’t let it collapse prematurely.

And right now, Qin Xiaoxia didn’t feel safe leaving Doudou at home alone.

It was unlikely, but if he came back and Doudou was gone, he wouldn’t know where to even start looking.

It took a great deal of persuasion to convince Doudou. Qin Xiaoxia had to explain how similar his appearance was to a human child, promise to buy him ice cream, and even offer to let him work off some of his rent by helping clean the old building.

「12:30 PM.」

Dressed in children’s clothes, Doudou also wore a large woolen hat to cover his big ears.

After being urged a dozen more times, Doudou finally, reluctantly, left the house with Qin Xiaoxia.

Just as they stepped out the door, they ran into Gou Junbao, who was home for his lunch break.

"Yo, Little Hero, heading out?"

"Ah~~"

Doudou jumped in fright, instantly fled back into the house, and slammed the door shut with a BAM~.

Leaving Gou Junbao and Qin Xiaoxia staring at each other blankly outside the door.

"Ahem, that’s, uh, a kid from a distant relative’s. I’m looking after him for a while. You know, he’s a bit shy and timid around strangers..."

"Er... that seems a little more than just shy, huh."

Gou Junbao saw Qin Xiaoxia’s awkward smile but didn’t think much of it and went into his own home.

Then, he heard Qin Xiaoxia start furiously pounding on the door.

...

Another ten-odd minutes later, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou were walking down the street, looking at the sparse pedestrians.

"See? The outside world might be dangerous, but with me here to provide cover, it’s not easy for you to attract attention."

Doudou held onto Qin Xiaoxia’s clothes with one hand and happily licked an ice cream cone with the other, clearly much more relaxed.

He only grew vigilant when one of those steel monsters—a car—occasionally drove past.

Up ahead, the Winding Loach River was already faintly visible.

Just then, a northwesterly wind blew over.

"GACK~~" "GACK~~"

Both Doudou and Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t help but feel nauseous and almost dry-heaved. Doudou even spat out a mouthful of ice cream.

"This stench is just too much!"

Qin Xiaoxia felt like he’d been royally screwed.

The Winding Loach River had been stinky for a while, but the concentration today was just ridiculous!

However, this was Qin Xiaoxia’s own misunderstanding. It wasn’t that the Winding Loach River’s pollution had worsened so drastically in a short time, but rather that his sense of smell was now far more acute than before.

To an ordinary person, the Winding Loach River was merely a bit smelly.

"Big Cousin... are we really going there?"

Doudou was hesitant.

Qin Xiaoxia’s nose had never suffered like this.

The foul stench—a mix of rotting salted fish and fermented old feces—made him want to go buy a gas mask.

But he had his principles. At the very least, he had never missed his twice-monthly cleaning since Old Qin’s death.

He squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth.

"Go!"

The direction wasn’t the turn-around Doudou had hoped for, but straight ahead.

As they crossed the bridge, both Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou held their breath and sprinted across.

During the sprint, Qin Xiaoxia glanced at the river and its banks.

The fishing enthusiasts he used to see were all gone. The water had a murky quality but didn’t look like a typically polluted waterway from memory.

They dashed across to the other side and sprinted for another half a minute, only pausing to breathe twice.

Over here, thanks to the direction of the wind, the stench was no longer as strong.

Both of them let out a huge sigh of relief.

Doudou’s expression was like that of a foreigner who’d just swallowed a century egg whole. The look of utter disgust made Qin Xiaoxia chuckle.

Qingzhen was right next to the countryside. After another twenty-minute walk along the old highway, the area ahead was filled with old, tiled village houses and trees.

And Doudou saw the old building Qin Xiaoxia had been talking about for the first time.

No wonder Qin Xiaoxia was so obsessed with cleaning the place.

The building looked quite large. If he were to sell it, it would be worth a lot of money, even in a remote place like Qingzhen.

Before them stood a building that combined an alternative Gothic style with ancient Hua Country architecture.

It was squarish and occupied a large plot of land. It was encircled by classical Hua Country-style pagoda eaves, but at its four corners were Gothic spires. In the center, a spire-like attic rose above the periphery, topped with a spiral-shaped lightning rod.

Although such a building was an odd mix, it should have exuded a classical beauty—a unique, gentle clash of Eastern and Western aesthetics. Yet, to the average person, a single glance often evoked a sinister feeling, especially when combined with the several dead trees surrounding the old building.

To the older generation in the surrounding villages, this was a dangerous "ghost house." They often warned the village children not to go near it. Even now, most people who ventured this way were curious passersby; locals were few and far between.

The older generation in the countryside tended to be superstitious.

If a child in the village drowned, it would be blamed on the fact that the child had played near the "ghost house" beforehand.

Even though plenty of people scoffed at this, it was a case of "better safe than sorry," so it was best to stay far away from the building.

Doudou and Qin Xiaoxia, however, were much more relaxed.

One was curious, the other nostalgic. They quickened their pace and arrived in front of the building in no time.

The building had a dilapidated surrounding wall that was purely for show; even the iron gate was gone.

The building itself, however, was still intact.

On the dark wooden door, the lock was also unusual, requiring one of those old-fashioned, classical keys often seen in movies.

But Qin Xiaoxia felt that kind of key was as good as no security at all, so a large, modern brass lock was now hanging on the door in a crude but effective fashion.

Taking out two keys, one old and one new, he opened the main door. Doudou finally saw the interior of the old building that Qin Xiaoxia had mentioned so many times.

Then he looked at Qin Xiaoxia with an expression of disdain and disgust.

"Big Cousin, this is what you call ’regular cleaning’?"

Inside the main hall, the dust was thick enough to build bricks with. A few stray spiderwebs hung from the ceiling. Some old-fashioned furniture sat in the corners, mostly covered with cloths. Only a grandfather clock was still somewhat eye-catching.

Qin Xiaoxia wasn’t the least bit embarrassed.

"Please. Besides this front hall, this building has eight rooms of various sizes, three laboratories, plus four small turrets and a large attic. You expect me to deep-clean it every two weeks? The most I can do is get rid of the spiderwebs and check for any major damage or blockages."

Today’s job was the same. Even with Doudou helping, Qin Xiaoxia had no intention of cleaning the entire building thoroughly. He would still just remove the cobwebs and check for leaks or serious blockages.

When everything was done and they were about to head back, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou were faced with another problem.

They still had to cross the Winding Loach River. If they had known, they would have brought masks—no, gas masks.