The Dragon King Insists That I Raise Him Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Hey, Want Some Braised Fish?

The cool air from the Air Conditioner blew gently, soothing the dryness of the scorching summer, but the temperature inside the house still refused to drop. The electric fan next to the solid wood sofa was whirring, blowing a weak breeze, and the tips of the young man’s hair fluttered with the wind.

The young man was exceptionally handsome, with fair skin, red lips, and white teeth. His long eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly about to take flight. Even with his dark hair soaked with sweat and clinging to his forehead, his appearance was undiminished; instead, it added a touch of endearing charm.

He tilted his head back, his neck curving like a swan’s, gazing at the stark white ceiling. Tao Qingguan parted his thin lips.

“Damn, it’s so hot.”

That old coot only knew how to trick him. He said he installed an Air Conditioner, but what he installed was a water-based cooling unit that drew water from the backyard well. The cooling effect would make even Zhou Bapi weep with envy. Even with an extra electric fan running, the sweat on his body hadn’t dried yet.

Tao Qingguan pushed himself up from the sofa with one hand, peeling the Cooling Patch that had lost its effect off his forehead and tossing it into the trash can. He crossed his arms, frowning as he looked at his luggage.

He had worked himself to exhaustion that morning, walking two or three stops under the blazing sun to get back to the Ancestral Home. He had originally planned to just find an empty room to sleep in, but after looking around, he realized only the main hall had an Air Conditioner installed. In this thirty-to-forty-degree weather, being without air conditioning was a death sentence.

Lying down felt like dying. Realizing he still hadn’t unpacked, he resigned himself to getting up and heading for the stairs to bring his bedding down from the second floor.

Fortunately, the main hall was large with plenty of open space, enough room to lay out a bedding set. He could look forward to ‘happily’ sleeping on the floor for the next month.

It was rare for him to return to the Ancestral Home. Looking at the familiar yet strange layout around him, Tao Qingguan felt a touch of nostalgia. It had been seven or eight years since he was last here.

If he hadn’t exhausted himself to the point of being bedridden, fearing an early death, Tao Qingguan wouldn’t have agreed to his grandfather’s suggestion to return to the Ancestral Home to recuperate.

However, although it was called the Ancestral Home, it was actually a self-built house, three stories tall. The decoration was a bit dated, but every corner was neat. Various solid wood furniture pieces were scattered throughout, giving it a somewhat antique charm.

Behind the house were farmland, and the neighboring houses were all more or less the same—just ordinary rural homes.

As a qualified Corporate Slave, Tao Qingguan climbed the stairs a few times, fulfilling expectations. Leaning against the wall, panting heavily, he finally managed to set up his sleeping area for the night and was too tired to move a single finger.

But there was still a great elder waiting for him to serve, so he couldn’t rest yet.

Tao Qingguan got up with a gloomy face and walked over to the luxurious Fish Tank that starkly contrasted with the surrounding rustic decor. Looking at the small fish swimming freely and carefree inside, he grinned wickedly and threatened it immorally.

“I’m making you into Braised Fish tonight.”

The little fish, whether it understood or not, flicked its tail and swam to a corner far from Tao Qingguan. It was about the size of his palm, its tail flowing like silk in the water. Its scales were smooth and lustrous, reflecting a multitude of colors as the fish moved.

“You’re still hiding.”

Tao Qingguan chuckled, shifted his feet, and stood in front of the little fish like a bully.

The little fish glanced at the fair-skinned, handsome young man. His threatening expression, however, lacked any deterrent effect on his beautiful face. It paused for a moment, then swam to the other side.

Tao Qingguan flashed over to follow, and the little fish… hesitated for a moment before reluctantly changing direction as well.

“Heh heh heh, you can’t escape,” Tao Qingguan childishly tapped the glass next to the fish, resting his head against the Fish Tank.

It had to be said, the cool glass against his skin felt quite comfortable.

Tao Qingguan’s attention was drawn away. He warmed one spot on the glass, then moved to another, shamelessly pressing his handsome face against it until it became contorted.

He lay against the glass, staring at the little fish. The fish seemed to be staring back. Perhaps the fish was tired of swimming, or for some other reason, it flicked its tail and hid among the water plants under a piece of coral. The water plants were a natural shelter, and once the fish hid, Tao Qingguan couldn’t see it anymore.

Tao Qingguan straightened up, raising an eyebrow. “Such a coward.”

It didn’t look easy to care for, but it was only for a month; he probably wouldn’t kill it… right?

Tao Qingguan was filled with uncertainty, already contemplating whether he could fool his grandfather if he bought a similar-looking fish at the Flower and Bird Market after this one died.

To be honest, he didn’t really believe his grandfather had kept this fish, because it was being cared for too meticulously.

The two-meter-long Fish Tank was built into the wall. Inside were corals, shells, and rocks, with several strands of seaweed swaying with the water current. There were also some plants Tao Qingguan didn’t recognize. The small Fish Tank had a look of opulence, completely inconsistent with his grandfather’s usual style of keeping things.

He knew his grandfather’s character all too well: as long as the thing he was raising didn’t die, that was good enough. He had plenty of experience with this.

When he was about four or five years old, his parents were busy with work and left him with his grandfather for a while.

The clearest memory Tao Qingguan had was of his grandfather, Tao Lihe, taking him to pick pomegranates. The Pomegranate Tree behind their old house had been growing for who knew how many years; it was about three or four stories tall.

He was fearless as a child then. Sitting on his grandfather’s shoulders, hugging his neck, he was carried up.

The old Pomegranate Tree had a thick trunk, sturdy enough for one or two people to stand on easily. He was excitedly picking pomegranates. Halfway through, he realized he had left the basket at home. His hands were small, and he could only hold two pomegranates at a time before they slipped.

Tao Lihe saw that the pomegranates couldn’t be carried and remembered they hadn’t brought the basket. He pondered for a moment and said to little Tao Qingguan, “Grandpa will go back and get the basket.”

And then—Tao Qingguan was left alone on the Pomegranate Tree by his carefree grandfather. Looking at the height below him, the small child belatedly felt scared. Clinging to the trunk, he shivered, and a gust of wind made him hiccup from fear.

Since then, Tao Lihe’s unreliability had left a deep impression on Tao Qingguan.

If he treated his own grandson like that, caring for small animals would be even less of a priority. But now, compared to this fish, his grandson seemed like a fake.

Oh wait, he was the real grandson, after all, and he had to serve this new ancestor like one.

Tao Qingguan felt a chill from his own thoughts. With a look of indescribable complexity, he opened the Memo app on his phone.

Before leaving, Tao Lihe had repeatedly instructed him, forcing Tao Qingguan to write down several points in the Memo before he would leave. Putting aside all the rambling nonsense, Tao Qingguan summarized the following points:

Feed once every morning at 8 AM. The three types of food must be mixed in a ratio of 1:3:4 before feeding.

Change the water every three days and clean the Fish Tank once. The water must be drawn from the Spring Water in the back mountain.

Keep quiet at night as much as possible to avoid disturbing the fish’s rest.

The first two points were understandable; perhaps this species really needed meticulous care. But the last point was utterly ridiculous, absurd to the extreme.

Tao Qingguan clicked his tongue and typed over the line, changing it to: “Do whatever you want at night. I’m off duty after work.”

After making the change, Tao Qingguan felt much better. He put away his phone, squatted down, and started fiddling with the buttons beneath the Fish Tank.

This was a Smart Fish Tank. Tao Lihe must have spent a fortune on it. Its high-end, minimalist appearance suggested it cost at least a thousand yuan. Tao Qingguan couldn’t find the manual nearby, so he tried pressing each button in turn, treating it like testing an Air Conditioner remote.

The first two adjusted the temperature, the next one added oxygen, and there were also water quality monitoring, light adjustment, and various other miscellaneous functions. After testing them all, Tao Qingguan made sure to set the values back, afraid that even a slight difference would cause the fish in the tank to die right in front of him.

There were about ten buttons underneath. When he reached the last one, Tao Qingguan didn’t think much of it and pressed it down. After about one or two seconds, nothing in the Fish Tank changed. Tao Qingguan found it strange and was about to lean closer to check when he suddenly heard a click.

Tao Qingguan froze, looked toward the sound, and saw a circular passage open up in the back wall of the Fish Tank. The water inside the tank suddenly rushed out through the opening, and the little fish hiding under the water plants was swept along by the current, flowing straight toward the passage.

Seeing the little fish about to fall out, Tao Qingguan quickly tried to press the button again, but even after poking it several times, the passage showed no response.

Tao Qingguan panicked, fumbling to open the lid and grab the fish. Before he could reach out, the little fish had already rushed out through the passage, leaving behind an empty Fish Tank and Tao Qingguan staring blankly.

After the water flow stopped, the opening of the passage emitted a sound similar to a toilet flushing, a sound full of mockery.

Hic!

Tao Qingguan: “…”

It seemed he would have to go to the Flower and Bird Market this afternoon.

Did the purpose of this One-Click Tank Cleaning button exist only to conveniently empty the Fish Tank and his wallet?

Tao Qingguan felt he might still be able to salvage the situation. He bent down and peered into the passage, vaguely seeing a faint light. There might be another water tank or something behind it.

If the fish was alive, he wanted to see it; if it was dead, he wanted to see the body. Tao Qingguan rolled up his non-existent sleeves, preparing to lift the Fish Tank down to see what was behind it.

But he strained until his face turned red, and the Fish Tank didn’t budge an inch. After trying for three seconds, Tao Qingguan gave up.

He looked at the unmovable Fish Tank, expressionlessly rubbing the fingers that now had red marks on them. Well… it wasn’t worth it. This Fish Tank might be more expensive than the fish. If he broke it, he’d have to compensate his grandfather for a new one.

Tao Qingguan pondered for a moment and walked back into the house.

If the front approach failed, he would try the back. Perhaps there was another world behind the wall. He walked around the wall and quickly discovered a problem: there was no room behind the wall where the Fish Tank was embedded; the back of this wall was the outside.

That was quite convenient; no need to even dispose of the wastewater, it was handled directly.

Tao Qingguan’s heart sank. In this weather and temperature, if the fish fell directly onto the ground outside, wouldn’t it dry up like jerky? How… how could he just throw it away like trash! He should at least put a bucket underneath to catch it.

He comforted himself internally: the Flower and Bird Market wasn’t far from here, only about an hour round trip. If he couldn’t find a similar one there, he could still order one online. Small problem… small… problem.

With a nervous feeling, Tao Qingguan walked outside and saw a long pipe. Tao Qingguan breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, his grandfather still had some civic sense and had made a place to dispose of the wastewater. He just didn’t know where it led.

Tao Qingguan followed the pipe forward. After walking just a few steps, he saw a gently flowing stream. The outlet of that pipe was fixed by the edge of the stream, and a few drops of water were still dripping from the opening, silently testifying to what had just happened.

And in the middle of the clear stream, a familiar little white fish was standing there. It flicked its tail, and its scales sparkled under the sunlight.

Tao Qingguan fell silent.

The fish ran out to explore a new world. Could he use that excuse to fool his grandfather…?