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Chapter 4: Ah pa

Chen Feng gently held the little one’s soft, tender hand, with the silly baby panda waddling alongside them as they walked toward the courtyard.

Chen Feng’s voice rang out, “From now on, we must go to bed early and wake up early, and we also need to work hard at exercising.”

“Little one, what do you think?”

Tricked by his coaxing, the little dumpling shook her head excitedly, her mood high as she cheered, “Okay~”

Chen Feng grinned mischievously. “Then tomorrow, let’s get up at six in the morning, and Daddy will teach you boxing!”

The little one sniffed and kicked her legs. “Ah pa~”

Her stance wobbled, and she nearly toppled over headfirst, making Chen Feng laugh even as he hurried to steady her. The little one looked up at her father and giggled endlessly.

She looked absolutely adorable.

The old couple saw the baby panda crawling laboriously over the threshold behind their granddaughter and couldn’t help but laugh. “Why did you two bring this lazy thing back home?”

“It only knows how to eat and sleep, sleep and eat.”

Linglong hugged the baby panda tightly, shouting in her childish voice, “Grandma, it’s~ Silly~”

Mother got a headache from the child’s words and snapped, “You two are the silly ones!”

Father, however, understood what his granddaughter meant. He chuckled and teased his wife, “Our sweet Linglong says this baby panda is called Silly. If you put yourself into the panda’s position, who can you blame?”

Mother glared at Chen Dachang. “You think you’re clever, don’t you?”

Linglong giggled and puffed out her chest. “I am~”

Their response set the couple off in laughter, and mother pinched the little girl’s cheeks. “You little rascal, go wash your hands, let’s get ready for lunch.”

The little one staggered over to the sink, tugging at grandmother to turn on the faucet, stretching out her hands to scrub thoroughly, then stretched her neck ceremoniously for grandmother to tie on her bib, before being happily placed on the child’s dining chair.

Chicken porridge, chunks of pumpkin, and vegetable soup made up the little one’s lunch.

In front of Chen Feng and the rest sat a big bowl of braised beef with potatoes and pickled chili bamboo shoots, the aroma filling the air.

Little Linglong glanced at the adults’ lunch, looked down at her own plate, licked her lips, then started eating eagerly with her spoon.

Chen Feng gave a thumbs-up to his little cutie, making her grin widely. Even when grandma tried to feed her, the little girl refused. Daddy said she must eat by herself.

She, Chen Linglong, was a smart baby.

Yi Qinghua watched the little one with her face covered in mush and said with a laugh, “Now that Daddy is back, she doesn’t even need Grandma to feed her anymore.”

Chen Dachang also gave a thumbs-up. “Our Linglong is more capable than other children.”

The little one quickly finished her food, rubbed at the mush on her cheeks, gave herself a big thumbs-up, and praised herself, “Great~ pa~”

She looked just like a little tabby cat. This appearance made everyone try hard not to laugh, while mother quickly grabbed a towel to wipe her granddaughter’s face clean.

But as for the mush on her clothes, there was nothing to be done.

Mother lifted her down from the high chair, and the little one, well-fed and satisfied, toddled toward Little Silly, who lay under a tree, calling out with a baby’s laugh, “Silly~”

She ran over and plopped down on the grass, hugging Little Silly and happily kicking her legs.

Yi Qinghua shook her head and sighed, “What a wild child.”

“Just like you were as a kid, never able to sit still.” She even glared at her son.

Unlucky Chen Feng scraped clean the last grains of rice from his bowl before calling out, “Linglong, sweetie, after a meal, you need to wash the dishes. That’s the rule!”

“Housework starts from a young age. If you don’t work, your daddy won’t be motivated to earn money for the family.”

“When grandpa and grandma get old and can’t do things anymore, and you can’t either, what then?”

“Do your chores first, then you can go play with Little Silly.”

As he spoke, he walked over and gently offered his big palm.

Mother rolled her eyes, wanting to say something, but father tugged her sleeve and shook his head. “The boy’s home now; raising the child is up to him. Let’s not interfere anymore.”

So, mother tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, watching her son and granddaughter acting out their drama.

Linglong looked at her father, then unwillingly glanced at Little Silly. She stretched out her arms, grabbed Daddy’s hand, and stood up with effort, following him into the kitchen. The dishes and chopsticks had already been placed in the sink by her grandmother.

Little Linglong, just seventy centimeters tall, stood barely above the sink. The clever little one looked left and right, then carefully dragged a square stool in front of the sink and climbed up.

Now her small head poked just above the sink.

Yi Qinghua stood nearby, covering her mouth as she filmed with her phone.

Chen Feng turned on the hot water and taught the little one how to wash the dishes. After demonstrating a few times, he had Linglong try it herself. Faced with all the soapy bubbles, she grew even more interested, grabbing the sponge to scrub, giggling all the while.

“You’re amazing, baby. You learned how to wash the dishes after watching just once,” Chen Feng praised her without hesitation, never stingy with his praise.

The little girl danced around with joy.

Mother stood off to the side, shaking her head and sighing. “Such a silly child~”

Chen Feng dried Linglong’s hands, watched as she carefully climbed down from the stool, and held her in his arms, kissing her gently on the forehead and pressing his cheek to her soft face. He chuckled, “From now on, Linglong will be a little expert at household chores.”

The little baby was thrilled, wrapping her arms around Daddy’s neck just like a little kitten.

Chen Feng carried her to the yard, glanced at the courtyard’s old water well outside the kitchen, and with a thought, a small green bead appeared at the bottom of the well. The quality of the well’s water changed rapidly; from now on, whoever in the family drank from this well would grow stronger, boost their immunity, and heal wounds and illnesses quickly.

Just as he wanted to sit down, the little one pushed on his chest, her cheeks flushing red as she urgently struggled to get down. “Daddy~ pee~”

Chen Feng understood her this time and hurriedly took the little one to the bathroom!

After she finished peeing, the mighty war god hugged his daughter and chuckled, “Our Linglong is such a good girl, knowing to use the toilet for peeing and pooping. Some kids still go wherever they please. Lots of people would dislike that, even Little Silly would dislike it, understand?”

“We must be good and clean from when we’re little.”

“That way, we won’t get sick or have to take bitter medicine.”

Linglong lay in Daddy’s arms, listening to his rambling. Her eyelids kept drooping, and soon they tangled shut. When Chen Feng looked down, this little girl was already fast asleep.

Chen Feng sat in the courtyard, gently hugging his little treasure, as a soft breeze swept away the afternoon heat. Even the cicadas seemed to fade away.

Little Silly also lay down at his feet, closed its eyes contentedly, and rested.

Yi Qinghua and Chen Dachang also took their midday rest. The blazing summer sun forced people to nap or hang out in the village’s tea house rather than risk heatstroke working in the fields.

Chen Feng lay on a bamboo recliner, crossing his legs, his own eyelids growing heavy.

A hot summer day was perfect for sleeping.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man who had been dragged away by two soldiers at noon and given a hard talk left the hospital tightly bandaged. He felt suffocated with resentment. Damn, he only wanted to catch a baby panda for money!

But for no reason, he got beaten up and lectured by the police.

Zhao Lun wasn’t convinced in the slightest.

He didn’t have much schooling and dropped out before finishing primary school, running to the mountains to collect and sell wild goods. He once made good money, but in recent years the country strictly controlled this, and he nearly got in trouble.

So now he only dared to pick wild things for barter, barely scraping by.

He finally got a big chance: an old business partner just released from reform found him, saying a boss wanted a baby panda and was willing to pay a hundred thousand yuan. This was a huge sum, enough for a long time of luxury.

Illegal?

He didn’t care about the law. Anyone who got in the way of his money was an enemy.

That baby panda, he had to get his hands on it.

Though his body felt battered, his face burning as if scorched, his dizzy head throbbing even with every breath, the thought of the money filled him with energy.

He decided to stake out Qingquan Village tonight.

As dusk fell, he rode an e-bike quietly into Qingquan Village, hid it in a secluded spot, and slipped into the bamboo grove near Chen Feng’s house.

Meanwhile, the soldiers guarding Chen Feng twitched their eyelids.

What was this guy plotting?

A tiny drone, no bigger than a mosquito, landed on a bamboo leaf beside Zhao Lun. Clueless, he stared in the direction of Chen Feng’s yard, getting ready to make his move late at night.

In his mind, he imagined himself surrounded by pretty girls calling him “Brother Lun” after he succeeded.

A sly grin crept onto his face.

The next second, a sharp pain shot through his nose and tears sprang to his eyes, nearly making him yelp.

Suppressing his thoughts, he waited until two in the morning before creeping closer to the big courtyard.

He had not even set foot on the steps when a blow landed on the back of his head, the world spun before his eyes, and he fainted.

The soldier on duty turned to his buddy. “You think this guy wants revenge on our commander?”

Chen Feng came out of the courtyard just then, shaking his head with a wry smile. “Let’s wake him up and ask what makes him so stubborn.”

After a few minutes, Zhao Lun woke under the shadow of a gun barrel and wet himself in fright.

They soon found out this guy wasn’t here for revenge—he just wanted to steal the baby panda.

“That’s a wild animal. Why would you think it’s in our yard?” Chen Feng asked curiously.

Zhao Lun answered righteously, “I saw it following you all, so it must have gone home with you!”

This logic… unbeatable!

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