"Not enough. A-Ling spent a great deal of time with his other uncle, so often his fishing was well behind his other studies. He had some of it, of course, among other things, but..."

Sharing his nephew with Jin Guangyao had been a pain in itself, having to give up his rights to the boy for too many weeks of the year. The fact that he had managed to deal with it to begin with is something of a marvel in the end, surely.

He takes his cup and sighs softly, rolling his eyes but responding the same.

"I'll lose all my hair because of it."