Chapter 28

Zhou Xu waved his hands. "Xiao Qi heard wrong. Why would I practice singing while taking a shower? Nothing of the sort."

Wen Cishu tugged at Xiao Qi's cute little fingers and said with a smile, "Xiao Qi's little ears are practically brand-new. How could he have heard wrong?"

"Exactly, exactly~~"

With someone backing him up, Xiao Qi swung his little feet happily, itching to throw himself into his little uncle's arms.

[Ooh~ the great beauty is speaking up for Mingzai. So sweet.]

[Looks like Zhou Xu really received Mingzai's great guidance last episode.]

[Zhou Xu fans are ecstatic. Love you, Mingzai! Mwah, mwah, mwah.]

Everyone chatted and laughed through a delicious lunch.

Sharp-eyed Zhou Xu joked, "Yiming's dad has a much better appetite today. I saw you help yourself to every dish."

Rongrong bravely chimed in, "Xiao Qi's dad, I saw Uncle take food from every dish twice~"

She gestured with her little hands.

Zhu Wei sounded surprised. "Rongrong, you were watching so carefully today? Well done."

Rongrong leaned happily toward her mother.

Even the usually quiet Xingxing spoke up. "Uncle ate more rice today than before, too."

Wen Cishu raised his eyes, bewilderment written in them.

Unable to help laughing, he pressed a hand to his forehead. "Why were you all paying so much attention to me? Were you not concentrating on your own food? That's not very good of you."

Chu Han backed her son up. "They all ate very well. I can vouch for Xingxing."

Zhu Wei joined in the teasing. "Our Rongrong ate very well, too."

Wen Cishu poked the little monkey. "Yiming, aren't you going to speak up for Daddy?"

"Oh-" Bo Yiming belatedly exclaimed in surprise. "I know why Little Daddy ate more!"

Several people at the table asked in unison, "Why?"

Bo Yiming opened his mouth to speak, but Wen Cishu had already picked up a tissue, pressed it against his palm, and covered his lips with it.

"Here, let Daddy wipe the corners of your mouth."

"Huh?!" the guests asked curiously in unison. "What's going on?"

Wen Cishu winked at his son.

Quick on the uptake, Bo Yiming raised his voice. "Have you finished eating? If you have, take a break. We still have to open the shop later!"

[Mommy, is that wiping his mouth? That's blatantly covering it! Flips table!]

[Once again, he anticipated Mingzai's anticipation. A repeat performance, lmao.]

[Mingzai's Big Daddy, you've got the guts to send your wife food, so why don't you have the guts to show your face!]

Chapter 28

After lunch and a short rest, the group opened the teahouse for business again.

Afraid Little Daddy would get tired, Bo Yiming specially cleared a square table in a corner for him to sit at and keep the accounts.

What he hadn't expected was that the square table stood right beside a window, so when Wen Cishu sat down, he faced the ancient-style street.

The slanting afternoon sun shone pale gold, and a slender bamboo roller blind full of old-world charm hung a third of the way down.

With the backs of his shoulders bathed in warm sunlight, Wen Cishu held his pen and concentrated on the accounts.

Passing tourists caught sight of a handsome young man in blue period clothing and couldn't help stopping to admire him.

Since they could only see half his profile, some made a detour through the teahouse entrance just to get a clear look at his face.

As soon as tourists entered, the four little ones surrounded them on both sides, coaxing and pestering them into staying, naturally persuading them to sit down for tea and a rest, and take a few pictures while they were at it.

With big brother Yiming and little brother Xiao Qi leading the way, quiet Xingxing and shy Rongrong both grew more outgoing.

The little ones chatted with the tourists from time to time, handling it all with ease.

Business that afternoon was much better than in the morning.

The four little bosses huddled together for a chirpy impromptu meeting and finally decided to close early.

After seeing off the last table of customers, Bo Yiming shook the money pouch and announced loudly, "We're taking the money and going out to play!"

Following the arrangement they had just discussed, Xingxing asked, "Uncle Zhou, can you be in charge of buying groceries?"

Zhou Xu raised Xiao Qi's little hand. "Of course. No problem."

"What about me?" Wen Cishu asked.

Rongrong rose onto her tiptoes and produced a Hello Kitty instant camera from behind her back.

"Uncle, will you take pictures for us?"

Zhu Wei ruffled her daughter's hair and explained, "As soon as we got home after last week's filming ended, Rongrong started rummaging everywhere for a camera. She insisted on bringing it this time, no matter what. She even had me prepare several extra packs of film."

Wen Cishu bent down and accepted the camera with both hands, crouching halfway to get closer to the soft little girl.

"Then Rongrong can teach me how to use it."

"Okay~~"

Taking tiny steps, Rongrong moved from beside her mother's legs to the uncle's side and happily clutched the hem of his clothes.

Chu Han asked her son, "Xingxing, what about me and Rongrong's mom?"

Xingxing looked a little troubled. "Mom, you and Auntie are too easy to recognize."

Several of today's tourists had recognized Chu Han and Zhu Wei at a glance.

Although that delighted both stars, they had indeed needed to come up with all sorts of excuses. If the two of them went out onto the street, they would probably be even more likely to get recognized.

Chu Han looked disappointed. "So we can't go out and play?"

Zhu Wei wasn't set on going out. "Then how about I stay here and wait for Mr. Zhou to come back, and we can prepare dinner together?"

Wen Cishu, who was leaning close to Rongrong, suggested, "Don't they have silk scarves for covering your face in period dramas?"

He gestured across the bridge of his nose. "Are there any here?"

"There are. I'll get them."

Bo Yiming remembered that there were lots of scarves in the costume box. Earlier, he hadn't known what they were for.

He hurried over, then ran back and handed them to the two aunties.

Zhu Wei and Chu Han both covered their faces with the slightly sheer white silk scarves, leaving only their lovely eyes and brows exposed.

Chu Han slipped into character in a second, delicately curving her fingers and resting her hands at her waist as she dipped in a curtsy and affected a dainty voice. "Greetings, elder sister."

Zhu Wei laughed and returned the curtsy, putting on an exaggeratedly high voice. "Don't be like that, little sister. You're scawing me~"

Wen Cishu held little Rongrong close, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

Bo Yiming took Xingxing's hand and waved as he bounced along. "All right. Let's go shopping!"

[Wifey, what a great idea! The two ladies playing veiled beauties makes perfect sense, and they're gorgeous~ kisses for each of you~]

[Chu Han and Zhu Wei have really loosened up a lot this episode. They're getting so fun.]

[Isn't the great beauty going to cover his face too? Sob, I want to see~]

[Mommy looks good enough to eat when he smiles. I want to grab him and squish him~]

On the show.

The ancient-style street was especially lively. As the eight guests walked along it, they seemed to become part of the scenic attraction. Some tourists even approached to ask where they had rented their high-quality period costumes.

Bo Yiming noticed that many passersby seemed determined to strike up conversations with Little Daddy, even when they had nothing to say.

Once he noticed this, he immediately moved to the outside, letting Little Daddy walk in the middle.

He secretly glanced at the two aunties walking ahead.

-I should have covered Little Daddy's face with a scarf, too!

Wen Cishu looked very interested in an antique stall.

After asking the owner, he picked up an ink stick decorated with gold-traced plum blossoms and orchids and examined it.

"Yiming, why don't you go play somewhere else with the younger ones? Daddy will stay here for a while."

"No!" Bo Yiming nervously linked arms with him. "I'm protecting Little Daddy."

Wen Cishu didn't bring it up again. He put down the ink stick and began studying the tattered old books beside it.

As he bent down and reached out, the white jade bamboo-joint bracelet slipped a little down his slender wrist.

The antique stall owner's eyes instantly gleamed. He looked up at the exceptionally handsome young man. "Where did you get that bracelet?"

He craned his neck and looked around. "Did you buy it on our street, too?"

"No."

Wen Cishu unhurriedly withdrew his hand and pushed the bracelet up into his sleeve.

The owner's expression changed, his smile turning friendly. "Planning to sell it? I can offer you a handsome price."

Wen Cishu shook his head with a faint smile. "Someone in my family gave it to me. The sentiment is priceless."

Seeing that his son seemed about to say something, he quietly winked. "Let's go, Yiming. Let's catch up with everyone."

He gave the owner a friendly nod and left with an arm around his son.

The owner watched him go with great regret, his gaze falling to his wrist, as though hoping the bracelet would slip out so he could get another look.

[Is wifey's bracelet really valuable? That owner actually wanted to make an offer?]

[Someone on Little Sweet Potato analyzed it during the last episode. Apparently it's some kind of mutton-fat jade, with every bead identical in quality. Extremely rare.]

[Sob, we still don't know about Mingzai's family situation. Ah! The suspense is killing me.]

Before long, Zhou Xu had efficiently finished buying all the ingredients.

The four little bosses conferred and divided the remaining money into four equal shares, giving each family spending money to buy other things.

Bo Yiming handed over the share for himself and Little Daddy. "Little Daddy~ what do you want to buy?"

Wen Cishu put an arm around his shoulders and said softly, "How about we pick out a little gift for your Big Daddy?"

"Huh?" Bo Yiming looked up, puffing out his cheeks and pouting.

He said reluctantly, "I thought Little Daddy would buy me a present."

Wen Cishu pinched his cheek. "Feeling stingy? Then we'll buy two."

Bo Yiming leaned against Little Daddy's shoulder. "Hehe~ I was just kidding, Little Daddy. Let's pick something for Big Daddy."

Pointing at what Xiao Qi and the others had gathered around nearby, he asked, "Little Daddy, how about we buy that? It's red. Big Daddy will definitely love it."

"..." Wen Cishu smiled. "You're buying Big Daddy candied hawthorns?"

[He agrees one second and sets Big Daddy up the next?]

[What a filial son. Give him a spanking!]

Bo Yiming pulled Little Daddy over and curiously asked all sorts of questions, wanting to find out what flavors there were.

Even the vendor thought his questions were odd. "Kid, have you never eaten hawthorn?"

Bo Yiming shook his head. "I've had ones with strawberries inside, and blueberries! Right, Little Daddy? Grandma Zhong made them."