Chapter 17

Xiao Qi stuck out the tip of his tongue and buried his little face in his dad's arms.

Everyone turned their gaze to Zhou Xu's face. He gave an awkward laugh. "My phone keeps getting calls I don't want to answer, so it's scary. You all understand, right?"

The three children still looked utterly confused.

Wen Cishu reached past his son for the box and offered an analogy. "It's like when you're having fun on vacation and your teacher suddenly calls."

The three little ones finally understood. They stared at Zhou Xu and let out a strange "Oh~~~~~" in unison.

Zhou Xu "lashed out in embarrassment," pointing at them. "What are you looking at me for? Read the task card! Otherwise, you might not finish your tasks and won't get to go home on time."

[Wifey, that was a great analogy. Don't make another one. That was scary.]

[Wahaha, these three little ones are so adorable. Xiao Qi is super cute too. Auntie's giving each of you a kiss~]

[Little Rongrong actually got in sync with her two big brothers. Good job!]

Wen Cishu lifted the lid of the box. Inside was an envelope labeled "Farm Workday Mini Tasks," along with several cute hand-drawn cards.

"Little ones, welcome to the task portion of Farm Workday. Since everyone ate a lot of the farm's food yesterday, you'll have to work hard for the farm before leaving today. Otherwise, you might be kept here to keep working."

The four children looked at one another.

Xingxing said, "Kept on the farm?"

Rongrong said, "Keep working?"

Xiao Qi said, "Huh?"

Bo Yiming said, "Wow, wouldn't that be great!"

[?? Wait, what are you getting excited about now?!]

[You actually want to stay and play on the farm forever? Isn't your home fun?]

[Maybe he doesn't have this many kids to play with at home.]

[Mingzai said yesterday that Big Dad hires tutors at the drop of a hat. Of course the farm is more fun by comparison~]

Wen Cishu read out the remaining work assignments on the card.

"We've prepared several baskets for the little ones to collect the ripe potatoes and carrots from the fields. The parents will prepare a hearty lunch while also acting as the farm's owners, supervising, weighing, and recording the crops the little ones bring back to ensure nothing is missed or wasted. Remember, parents may not dig up the potatoes or carrots themselves."

As the senior parent of the group, Zhu Wei immediately said, "Then how about Teacher Zhou and I handle the cooking? Teacher Chu, you and Yiming's dad can supervise and check what they bring in."

No one objected.

Xingxing asked, "Then should we split up the work too?"

Bo Yiming thought for a moment. "No, it's better if we stick together. Xiao Qi and Rongrong are both too little. Let's dig up potatoes together first, then pick carrots."

Zhou Xu reminded him with a smile, "Yiming, carrots have to be dug up too."

"Really?" Bo Yiming looked surprised, then turned to the person beside him. "Little Dad, is that true?"

Wen Cishu explained, "It's in storybooks. When the little rabbit pulls up a radish, it's pulling it out of the dirt."

Bo Yiming muttered, "Little Dad hasn't seen radishes growing in a field either, has he?"

Wen Cishu: ...

[Mingzai: Please call me an expert at undermining people.]

[I feel like Wifey hasn't seen them either. (Actually, lots of city people haven't. Can't blame Wifey~)]

[Me neither... But I know they grow underground. I just don't know what the part above ground looks like.]

Once they understood the tasks, Bo Yiming took charge of getting the little plastic tools.

Then the four little ones held hands and headed out together, arranged from tallest to shortest.

Their figures skipped along the field ridge, a fresh, childlike sight.

Wen Cishu and Chu Han helped carry the baskets and followed them out.

The potato patch wasn't very large, with six neat rows.

Apart from the holes left at one end where they had dug yesterday, the other rows were covered with lush green stems and leaves.

Worried that the children wouldn't know how to dig, Chu Han demonstrated the motions from the side.

"Rongrong, you dug some yesterday. Could you show your big brothers how?"

"Mm." Rongrong gently pulled aside the leaves on the ground, then used her little plastic shovel to scrape away the loose, cracked soil, exposing a cluster of potatoes.

"That's so easy!" Bo Yiming immediately stepped over to another row. "I'll start here, then."

Holding his little blue shovel, Xingxing went to a neighboring row.

Seeing Xiao Qi about to leave too, Wen Cishu quickly said, "Yiming, work with Xiao Qi. You dig, and let Xiao Qi pick them up."

Hearing his little uncle's arrangement, Xiao Qi happily trotted over to his brother and tipped up his little head. "Hurry and dig, big brother~"

Bo Yiming crouched down. "You got it! Your big brother's starting right now! Big potatoes, here I come!"

Wen Cishu saw Rongrong's tiny figure already hard at work shoveling dirt and said, "Xingxing, how about you work with Rongrong?"

Xingxing had just crouched down. He stood up again and looked toward Rongrong, who happened to raise her head.

It looked like his little sister had been left all alone.

Like a rabbit, he hopped over the potato row and walked over to Rongrong. "I'll dig."

"Mm~" Rongrong nodded and helped push some leaves aside for him. "Dig here."

Neither adult dared relax too much. Both watched carefully.

They weren't worried about the children missing potatoes, but about a shovel or something else hurting their little hands.

Before long, Xiao Qi exclaimed, "Wow, what a really, really big potato!"

He held it up high in both hands for everyone to see.

Zhou Xu came over just then. "Come on, give that potato to Daddy. Daddy's cooking."

Xiao Qi immediately shielded it against his chest and crouched beside his brother, terrified it would be snatched away. "No, Daddy! This big potato is amazing."

Bo Yiming held a little shovel in each hand, frantically scraping dirt to either side of his feet like a rabbit digging a burrow. He nodded. "That's right. Big potatoes are really rare. Take the little ones, Uncle."

Zhou Xu could only bend down and pick through the basket.

After he left, Wen Cishu helped push the basket closer to the two children so the little ones wouldn't keep trotting back and forth with potatoes in their arms.

Curled into a little ball as he crouched, Xiao Qi saw this and exclaimed happily in his babyish voice, "Little Uncle is so nice~"

Wen Cishu smiled and ruffled his hair. "Keep it up, Xiao Qi."

Just then, Bo Yiming looked up. "Little Dad, I need encouragement too."

Wen Cishu ruffled his hair as well. "Keep it up, Baby Mingming!"

"Hehe~" Bo Yiming was already getting used to, and even starting to like, Little Dad calling him that.

[It's wonderful how Mingzai just asks outright when he wants his dad's attention.]

[Tsk, you're only digging potatoes. Why are you putting on a whole father-son love fest?]

On the other side, Chu Han, just like Wen Cishu, stayed close to the two little ones, ready to lend a hand at any time.

Rongrong was digging enthusiastically, so Xingxing told her to rest a little. "Rongrong, just pick up little potatoes for a while like Xiao Qi."

"No, I want to work hard at digging too," Rongrong said softly. "Big brother, can we put them in the basket later?"

Her voice was always soft, and Xingxing nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Okay!"

The children worked with all their might, showing no signs of tiredness or reluctance.

Wen Cishu looked at the holes they had already dug. He hadn't even known his little monkey could be so patient, or so thoughtful in looking after the younger children.

It seemed that coming on the show with him really had been a wise choice.

"Yiming, Daddy's going to get some water. Don't rush. Take your time digging." Wen Cishu let Chu Han know and asked her to keep an eye on them, then headed toward the kitchen.

Bo Yiming was having fun digging when his watch screen started flashing. "Huh?"

Xiao Qi leaned closer curiously. "Big brother, what's that?"

"Grandpa's calling." Bo Yiming curled his fingers and tapped the screen with his only clean knuckle. [Hello, Grandpa.]

Xiao Qi furrowed his little brows, wondering curiously what his brother was saying. Why couldn't he understand?

[French?]

[Damn! I almost forgot Mingzai is half Chinese, half French.]

[You can't memorize English vocabulary, but you can speak French, huh? Fine, fine, you're mixed, you speak multiple languages, you're amazing.]

Inside the RV.

Bo Tingyuan, who had kept his head lowered as he reviewed documents, immediately raised his eyes at that form of address and looked at his younger son on the screen.

Uncle Xu was pouring tea, and his hand paused around the teapot.

Bo Yiming's grandfather, Bo Tingyuan's father, had broken with Old Master Bo in his younger years to pursue his ideal career, resolutely giving up the Bo family's enormous fortune.

Had Bo Tingyuan not later returned to the country, the Bo family's assets would probably have been handed over to members of other branches by now.

As a member of the older generation, Old Master Bo could not accept his only son's choice. When they broke ties, he ordered him to give up the surname Bo, so he later changed his surname to Li, becoming Li Yun.

Li Yun had always worked for the government. More than twenty years ago, he was already a senior official at a consulate in France, and later worked at consulates in several countries across Europe.

Only in the past two years, as he grew older, had his visits home become more frequent.

Uncle Xu had complicated feelings toward Li Yun, the former eldest young master.

He respected his choice, yet could not understand his decision.

He continued pouring the tea, and when he brought it over, he observed the current eldest young master's reaction.

Most of the time, Bo Tingyuan kept his emotions hidden, and was especially tight-lipped about matters between father and son.

He simply watched in silence as his son spoke with his grandfather on the screen.

On the show.

Li Yun: [Good boy, are you at home?]

Bo Yiming looked at his mud-covered hands, momentarily unsure how to explain to his grandfather far away abroad that he was digging potatoes. [I'm playing outside, Grandpa.]

But immediately afterward, his tone turned cheerful. [Little Dad came out with me.]

Li Yun: [Has your little dad been feeling well lately?]

Bo Yiming nodded. [A little better than a while ago. The doctor came to see him too. Grandpa, do you miss me?]