A Little Chubby Boy 2

On a rare day off, the sun was shining brightly, and the weather was perfect. Lin Lang got up early to make a bowl of wontons for the little guy. The wontons were homemade, with thin skin and a generous filling. The meat filling had a bit of chopped green onion, minced ginger, and finely diced carrot and lotus root, giving it a fresh and slightly sweet taste. A few green onions were sprinkled in the soup, along with a dash of soy sauce and white pepper, making it incredibly fragrant. The little guy could eat more than ten in one sitting and gulp down half a bowl of soup.

After eating, the little guy wiped his oily mouth with his chubby little hand and obediently said, “Daddy, I’m full now. I’m going to play—”

Lin Lang patted his soft hair and gently smiled, “Go ahead—” After completing the trade mission last time, the system gave the little guy a buff to make him as strong as a little bull. Sun Taiyi prescribed some medicine, and after taking it for about twenty days, his health improved significantly, making Lin Lang feel quite relieved.

The little guy ran to the big locust tree, took out his set of small tools, and diligently started digging a moat around the old tree roots again. Every day when he was home alone, he enjoyed digging a moat around the old locust tree, imagining himself as a mighty general. The old locust tree was his territory and people to protect. He wanted to dig the deepest moat and build the strongest fortress to protect his land and people!

Upon unintentionally learning about Little Chubby Boy’s ambitious dreams, Lin Lang thought to himself: How come his unreliable father, who never spent a day with Little Chubby Boy, is so much like him when he was a child?!—

He remembered that when the Emperor was young, he also loved playing these games of building moats and protecting territories and people, always getting himself covered in mud, much to Lin Lang’s disdain. Yet, the young Emperor enjoyed it immensely and even somehow got hold of a pink scarf, claiming it was his princess’s veil, saying he was the princess he was protecting—

Although Lin Lang didn’t want to be the princess, at least the princess didn’t have to touch the mud and could just sit under the tree and read, so he reluctantly accepted.

Now, when Little Chubby Boy played this game, he also tried to make Lin Lang the princess, saying his dear daddy was the best-looking, and the best-looking should be the princess.

Lin Lang: He really had to thank his chubby son for that—

To avoid hurting his chubby son’s innocent heart, he tried to brush it off, saying, “Daddy has to cook and do laundry for the general, so there’s no time to be the general’s princess—”

Little Chubby Boy was easily convinced by his daddy. In his young mind, he knew that a princess only needed to be beautiful and didn’t have to cook or do laundry. If daddy became the princess, he would go hungry, so it was better to find someone else to be the princess—

So, until now, his princess was still the little horse puppet his daddy bought for him from the market. Although the little horse puppet was cheap, it was exquisitely made and brightly colored, which he loved very much.

That morning, after Little Chubby Boy filled up on wontons, he started his moat-digging and territory-guarding business again.

Lin Lang also had some wontons to fill his stomach and then began preparing the lunch feast. Yesterday, he happened to meet Lu Ji, so he invited Lu Ji and Fan Zhong over.

He didn’t plan to prepare many dishes, but the portions were substantial: a braised crispy pork knuckle, a roasted leg of lamb, some lamb skewers, a braised goose, a mountain mushroom chicken soup, and a few side dishes. With Uncle Lin helping him, the preparations went quickly, and by the time it was around 7-9 AM, the preparations were almost done.

The leg of lamb was roasting, the chicken soup was simmering, the braised goose was cooking, and the pork knuckle was already tender, with a crispy skin forming in the oil, simmered to perfection with the broth.

With time to spare, he sat in a wicker chair under the tree to read and rest. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the old locust tree, casting dappled light on him as a gentle breeze blew by.

The bamboo wicker chair swayed slightly. He wore a moon-white long robe, and before long, he felt drowsy and dozed off, the book in his hand covering his face.

Lin Lang vaguely heard the sound of someone moving, but he was too sleepy, thinking it was old servant Uncle Lin tidying up the yard, so he let himself drift off to sleep.

When he woke up, he found Little Chubby Boy had moved a small stool to sit in front of him, and he had a blanket covering him, which filled him with a sense of fatherly pride.

Seeing his daddy awake, Little Chubby Boy jumped up from the stool and threw himself into his daddy’s arms, proudly announcing his achievement, “Daddy, I was afraid you’d catch a cold, so I worked hard to bring a blanket from the study to cover you!”

“I’ve been guarding you the whole time—I’m a big boy now and can protect daddy!”

He raised his little head, looking for praise and compliments.

Lin Lang’s heart felt both sour and soft, thinking how his Little Chubby Boy could be so well-behaved! He ruffled his soft curls and praised him, “So good! From now on, daddy will rely on you to protect him—”

Little Chubby Boy puffed out his chubby little chest, wearing a proud expression, thinking he was really amazing!

Lin Lang suddenly noticed a ring of cake crumbs around his Little Chubby Boy’s mouth. He bent down, picked him up, and gently wiped the cake crumbs from his mouth with his thumb, smiling, “Where did you sneak off to eat cake again? You didn’t even wipe the crumbs clean—”

Little Chubby Boy quickly covered his little mouth with his chubby hands, his big black eyes darting around, stammering, “It was, it was Auntie from next door who gave it to me, I didn’t sneak any—”

Lin Lang knew his chubby son was lovable, and the neighbors often thought of him when they had something tasty or fun, so it wasn’t surprising.

He wiped Little Chubby Boy’s mouth clean, patted his soft, fair little cheek, and gently patted his little bottom, saying, “Alright, go play by yourself. Daddy has to make delicious food. Uncle Fan and Uncle Lu will be here soon—”

Little Chubby Boy let out a happy “ow” and went off to play with mud again, his little bottom sticking up in the air.

Outside the small courtyard, Wang Dahai peeked at his master’s expression and cautiously asked, “Your Majesty, aren’t we going in? It looks like Lord Lin is having guests today. Maybe we can join in for a good meal. I haven’t tasted Lord Lin’s cooking yet—”

The Emperor glared at him and snapped, “Are you a pig brain?! I told you to call me master when we’re outside!”

Wang Dahai quickly put on a smiling face and nodded repeatedly.

The Emperor continued to scold in a low voice, “Eat, eat, eat, all you think about is eating! Is Lord Lin’s cooking for you to eat?!”

Wang Dahai looked aggrieved but didn’t dare say anything, racking his brain to come up with something clever, “I may not have the fortune, but if the master can eat it, wouldn’t that be Lord Lin’s blessing?!”

The Emperor was somewhat tempted. But he had just sneaked out of the courtyard when he noticed Lin Lang showing signs of waking up, and now going back in pretending nothing happened felt a bit embarrassing.

Wang Dahai seemed to understand the Emperor’s thoughts and whispered, “If the master doesn’t say, and I don’t say, who would know we came early—”

The Emperor thought that made sense.

Wang Dahai continued to encourage, “It’s rare to leave the palace, and isn’t the master here specifically to see Lord Lin? If we leave without Lord Lin knowing about the master’s favor, it would be a waste—”

The Emperor crossed his arms, looking down at Wang Dahai with a displeased face, “Who said I left the palace specifically to see Lord Lin?!”

Wang Dahai slapped his forehead, quickly correcting himself, “I was just talking nonsense! The master is just passing by! Just passing by!”

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction, dusting off his sleeves, “Since we’re here, let’s go in and take a look—”

Wang Dahai happily replied, “Got it—”

With that, he followed the Emperor to the courtyard gate and knocked on it.

They heard Lin Lang’s voice getting closer, “Coming—” He muttered as he walked, “Brother Fan and Little Lu are early today—”

The gate creaked open, and Lin Lang poked his head out to look around, finding no one there. He wondered, “Where is everyone? I clearly heard something—”

Wang Dahai glanced at the Emperor with a look of disappointment, feeling he’d never seen his master so timid before.

Just then, Lu Ji and Fan Zhong came around the corner. Lu Ji, seeing Lin Lang from afar, ran over like a ball, waving his hand and calling out, “Brother Lin! Brother Lin—”

“Did you hear us from afar and come to greet us?—”

After exchanging pleasantries, they entered the courtyard, and Lin Lang unceremoniously slammed the gate shut with a “bang.”

Leaving Wang Dahai looking at the Emperor with a face full of disbelief, making the Emperor so angry he gave him a hard slap, “What are you looking at?! Back to the palace! What’s there to see outside the palace?!”

“We’ve been out of the palace for so long! You don’t even want to go back! I think your heart has gone wild! Now that you’re getting older, staying in the palace is a burden for you. Why not just retire and return home tomorrow?!”

Wang Dahai dropped to his knees with a thud, pleading with tears and snot, “Your Majesty, my loyalty to you is as clear as day! I was born your man and will die your ghost! Please don’t abandon me!—”

The Emperor hurriedly walked away, looking disgusted, “Get up! You’re embarrassing yourself!”

Wang Dahai crawled on his knees, wailing, “Your Majesty, I can’t bear to leave you—”

The Emperor impatiently said, “Enough, get up. If you don’t want to retire and return home, then don’t. Stop embarrassing yourself—”

Wang Dahai wiped his tears, instantly changing to a cheerful face, following the Emperor with a flattering smile, “Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty is mighty! I will serve you until the end of my days!”

The Emperor looked at Wang Dahai, feeling utterly fed up, his head throbbing with pain.

Back in the palace, Wang Dahai massaged the Emperor’s head.

Although the Emperor thought Wang Dahai was only good at flattery, his massage skills were indeed top-notch, always soothing his headaches.

While massaging, Wang Dahai said, “Your Majesty, today I saw the little master of the Lin family and suddenly realized he looks exactly like you did when you were young! Isn’t that fate?!”

The Emperor’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately frowned, “What nonsense are you talking about?! How could that little brat look like me?! He might resemble Zimo a bit more—”