Chapter 50 p2
“Be good.” Wei Chengli held the dumpling with one hand and continued picking mulberry leaves with the other.
“Daddy, you’re picking over there, I can’t see Yan Yan if you go there!” Wei Maomao tugged at his collar, directing him.
“I’m truly indebted to you.” Wei Chengli was exasperated, but he still followed her instructions and moved to another spot.
Wei Maomao, realizing her own burden, watched as Cheng Tingyan ran back and forth in the distance, and slumped against his shoulder again. “Daddy, Yan Yan is afraid of bugs, why is she transporting silkworms?”
The little chubby dumpling’s voice, although no longer filled with grievance, was still soft and weak, making Wei Chengli’s heart ache.
“To complete the task, for Baby Coins, for the stamp, for the mystery box, for family harmony… There are many reasons.” Wei Chengli snorted and concluded, “How would I know why.”
“Oh.” Wei Maomao responded listlessly.
Honestly, Wei Maomao could only think of those possibilities herself. She could only say that because her goal was to protect Yan Yan, those other things weren’t important to her. But that didn’t mean they weren’t important to the six-year-old Yan Yan.
Yan Yan was earnestly doing the task, maybe she also wanted to win?
“Daddy, do you think Yan Yan wants to win?” Wei Maomao sat up.
“Heh, heh, heh, this is our last task, you want her to win, don’t you?” Wei Chengli sneered.
Wei Maomao wriggled awkwardly, it was indeed a bit embarrassing to admit.
“Fine, let’s keep picking mulberry leaves for now, anyway, the last part of the task is yours to do, you decide.” Wei Chengli patted her chubby waist. He wasn’t really competitive when it came to this relay race. Thinking back, Wei Chengli felt that his greatest achievement today wasn’t completing any particular task… but catching up to the Cheng family again and again under the little dumpling’s pressure, heh.
“Daddy, then hurry up!” Wei Maomao pushed her luck. “After we’re done, we’ll go back and wait for Yan Yan.”
“Okay, okay, okay, fast, fast, fast. I also… This show is called ‘Where’s Baby Going,’ they really got the name right, it’s truly wherever you want to go, we go.” Wei Chengli sped up his mulberry leaf picking, then asked tentatively, “So who does my baby love the most now?”
Wei Maomao: “… “
“Heh, heh, heh…” Wei Chengli chuckled coldly, putting the little dumpling down. “No one’s carrying you anymore, I need both hands to work, it’s all because my boss is called Mao the Exploiter!”
Wei Maomao: “… “
The little dumpling, adorable and lonely, stood on the ground. The viewers in the live broadcast room almost died of laughter at Wei Chengli’s words.
“Hahaha! ‘Mao the Exploiter,’ our three-year-old CEO Mao can’t even understand that joke!”
“Director Wei probably said it because he doesn’t want Maomao to understand, hahaha, he can have his fun without facing the consequences.”
“Director Wei’s description is quite accurate, our CEO Mao’s favorite is Yan Yan, the one working is Daddy, Daddy is just a little mount for CEO Mao to love Yan Yan, hahaha!”
“I’m dying of laughter, Director Wei is experiencing the pain of an old father prematurely.”
“He deserves it! He should have realized earlier that Yan Yan wanted him to protect Maomao, he even kept it a secret from Maomao, and now the poor bunny cried…”
“Sigh, Director Wei is also having a hard time, they’re all adults, and it’s a live broadcast, it’s not appropriate to say such direct things.”
“Blame Cheng Feiying, his face darkened so quickly back then, even I was startled. Yan Yan is brave, she immediately pulled Maomao behind her and hid her.”
“Honestly, that ‘stuffing her in’ was hilarious, when I saw Yan Yan desperately trying to hide Maomao, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
“I don’t know why Yan Yan is working so hard, is she just afraid of Cheng Feiying, that’s why she’s enduring the bugs? When she was carrying the silkworms, her face was pale, and her hands were shaking…”
“It’s good that Maomao is far away, if she saw Yan Yan like this up close, she would definitely try to stop her.”
“So silkworms really eat mulberry leaves quite fast, they’ve already eaten almost half.”
“Yan Yan is working too hard, I really want her to win, but I don’t want Cheng Feiying to get the grand prize…”
“Right, I still hope CEO Mao wins, what does Yan Yan have to do with Cheng Feiying getting the grand prize?”
…
Speaking of which, after Wei Chengli put Wei Maomao down, the surrounding mulberry trees were tall and green, a refreshing breeze carrying a faint scent of greenery. But her mind was entirely focused on Cheng Tingyan in the distance.
Wei Chengli, now free to use both hands, picked leaves diligently. When he looked back, the little chubby dumpling was still standing where he had put her down, staring blankly in the direction of the pavilion.
Sometimes, Wei Chengli truly admired the little stinky dumpling’s persistence.
After filling the basket, Wei Chengli took the little dumpling’s hand and returned to the pavilion. He peeked inside and saw that the two basins belonging to the Cheng family were already filled with over a dozen silkworms each, the ten mulberry leaves in each basin were almost completely devoured, probably only about a third remained.
“Are you going to… or what?” Wei Chengli handed the basket to the staff member for weighing, then pointed his chin towards the van where the silkworms were kept, asking the little chubby dumpling.
“I…” Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Tingyan, who was running towards them from the van, her little feet shuffling on the ground.
“Almost three kilograms, Director Wei… You really stuffed it full.” The staff member returned the basket, his expression a mixture of emotions.
Wei Maomao saw Cheng Tingyan’s pale face.
“Yan Yan…” Wei Maomao instinctively took a step forward.
Cheng Tingyan glanced at Wei Maomao, then walked over and placed the silkworm in her hand into her basin. She looked at it for a moment, then whispered something to the staff member next to her.
Wei Maomao silently retracted her foot.
Ah, Wei Maomao suddenly realized that her luck yesterday had been too good, way too good. Yan Yan had accepted her right away, they played together… So if Yan Yan kept ignoring her like this, she wouldn’t be able to persistently pursue her?
Cheng Tingyan, after finishing her conversation with the staff member, ran towards the group of staff further away without looking back.
Wei Maomao, watching Cheng Tingyan’s retreating figure, clutched her skirt sadly, lowering her gaze.
She was such a coward… How could she be so cowardly, go after her, why couldn’t she take a step forward…
Plop, plop…
Wei Maomao looked at the dark spots on the ground in front of her, created by falling water droplets, momentarily confused.
Two cool fingers pressed on her head, gently stroking her hair. This gentle touch made Wei Maomao break down, she leaned against the hand, her voice soft. “Dad… Ah! Eh? Huh?”
Wei Chengli quickly stepped forward to support Cheng Tingyan, preventing the little chubby dumpling from toppling her over.
“Be careful, you’re much heavier than Yan Yan, if you lean on her like that…” Wei Chengli couldn’t help but complain, but then he saw the tears on his chubby dumpling’s face and froze. “Why are you crying again?”
“Why are you crying again?” Cheng Tingyan asked the same question almost simultaneously.
The adult and the child looked at each other, their eyes filled with the same concern and helplessness.
“I…” Wei Maomao, who had accidentally leaned half her body against Cheng Tingyan, straightened up with Wei Chengli’s help, hesitated for a moment, then carefully took a step back, no longer as close to Cheng Tingyan.
Cheng Tingyan didn’t notice the little one’s subtle movement, she was busy digging through her bag for a handkerchief.
The familiar handkerchief, the familiar gentle wiping of tears, accompanied by the familiar…
“This is the last clean handkerchief for today, you can’t cry anymore.”
Cheng Tingyan’s voice was soft and gentle, Wei Maomao listened… What was going on, she was ignoring her just now, but now she was back to her usual self?
“Older sister, what are you doing? Why aren’t you getting more silkworms?” Cheng Rongrong, panting, placed the silkworms in her hand into her basin, looking at Cheng Tingyan with surprise and urgency.
“I’m done, wasn’t it twenty?” Cheng Tingyan, confused, pointed at the staff member next to her basin. “Brother already counted for me, it’s twenty.”
“Older sister, didn’t you listen to the rules carefully? The more we carry, the faster the mulberry leaves will be eaten, the faster we can get the stamp and move on to the next task location.” Cheng Rongrong, glancing at the gloomy Cheng Feiying, added, “Older sister, you’re close to Maomao, are you waiting for her?”
“I’m carrying silkworms for this.” Cheng Tingyan took a Baby Coin from her bag and showed it. “I can get one after carrying twenty.”
“What about the stamp?” Cheng Feiying couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.
“Twenty will also be enough to finish the leaves.” Cheng Tingyan glanced at the basin, rubbing her hands unconsciously. “I only need one Baby Coin.”
“You…” Cheng Feiying frowned.
“Hey, hey, Brother Cheng, the child is afraid of bugs, it’s already amazing that she managed to carry twenty. Let the silkworms eat slowly, I see the mulberry leaves in Yan Yan’s basin are almost gone.” Wei Chengli stepped forward to mediate, then added, “Our Maomao is still crying, by the time she stops crying, you’ll have finished the task.”
“That’s not what I meant, you do your thing.” Cheng Feiying understood what Wei Chengli was implying, but did he need his permission!
However, with Wei Chengli standing there, blocking most of Cheng Tingyan, Cheng Feiying couldn’t directly lecture his daughter. He could only suppress his anger and let it go for now.
Behind Wei Chengli, Wei Maomao carefully reached out with two short, chubby fingers, gently tugging on Cheng Tingyan’s skirt, signaling her to step back with her. She then lowered her voice and asked, “Did you carry the silkworms just for the Baby Coin?”
Cheng Tingyan nodded.
“We have a lot of Baby Coins.” Wei Maomao didn’t understand.
“We have a lot, but we can always have one more.” Cheng Tingyan said seriously.
Alright…
Wei Maomao hesitated for a moment, feeling the need to clarify, to avoid a misunderstanding. “Then do you want to win first place in the end? I don’t know if anyone is faster than us. If not, we’ll win if we finish this task first, you’ll win if you finish ‘Food’ first.”
“I don’t want to.” Cheng Tingyan was puzzled. “You and your dad will be first after finishing this, why not do it?”
Wei Maomao: “… “
“Are… you also afraid of bugs?” Cheng Tingyan tried to understand.
Wei Maomao shook her head. “If you want to win, you can win, you can get the grand prize for first place.”
“You’re saying, if I want to win, you’ll stop doing the task and let me win?” Cheng Tingyan finally understood.
Wei Maomao nodded, then corrected her softly, “Not stop doing it, just slow down.”
Cheng Tingyan smiled. “Silly bunny…”
Wei Maomao: ???
Cheng Tingyan, who had accidentally blurted out her true feelings, covered her mouth, cleared her throat, and took out a handful of Baby Coins. There seemed to be about seven, probably from the first seven tasks.
“If our family wins the grand prize, the prize is this much.” Cheng Tingyan shook the Baby Coins in her hand, holding up one. “I might get this much.” Actually, she felt she wouldn’t get anything.
Wei Maomao: ???
“If your family wins the grand prize, the prize is this much.” Cheng Tingyan put the coin back, shook them all together again, separated three, about half, and held them up. “You can have this much.”
Wei Maomao: “… “
Cheng Tingyan was puzzled. “Why would I want to win first place?”
“You’re wrong.” Wei Chengli, who had been secretly watching for a while, reached out and held up the remaining four Baby Coins in Cheng Tingyan’s hand. “If our family wins the grand prize, the prize is this much, this much, it’s all Maomao’s.”
Cheng Tingyan was stunned.
But Wei Chengli wasn’t done. He gathered all the Baby Coins from both of their hands, placed them in Cheng Tingyan’s palm, and pressed down, saying solemnly, “Based on your current family status, what’s Maomao’s is yours.”
Cheng Tingyan: “… “
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