Little Yu’er, who didn’t want to study, took advantage of her mother and brother not paying attention, hugged her new companion, the little black dog, and was about to sneak out through the dog hole to play. But before she could crawl out of the dog hole, she heard people outside—lots of people—and got so scared she didn’t dare move.
A chubby, fair-skinned little baby, holding an equally plump little puppy in her arms, the two little things huddled together in a pile of pine needles, their big watery eyes staring warily at the group of fierce-looking strangers outside.
Gao Zhuoyuan was utterly charmed by the soft, obedient little cutie before him. His heart softened, and he softened his tone, a smile on his face: “Little cutie, don’t be afraid. We uncles aren’t bad people.”
He reached out his hand to lift the little baby out, but unexpectedly, the little one glared at him with a wary expression, shrinking back a little, and let out a startled milk-burp.
Little Yu’er stared at this strange uncle with the odd smile, remembering the story of child traffickers her mother had told them.
Child traffickers always loved telling kids they weren’t bad people!
Mu Qinzhen, seeing that adorable little dumpling, felt his heart soften for some unknown reason. A strange emotion welled up inside him, as if this child were somehow deeply connected to him.
He stepped forward, pulled Gao Zhuoyuan aside, stood with his hands behind his back, and fixed his gaze on the little dumpling curled up into a ball.
Little Yu’er met the gaze of this tall uncle and immediately widened her eyes in surprise.
Why did this uncle look so much like her brother? Could he be her big brother too?
Mu Qinzhen naturally noticed the surprise in the little baby’s eyes, and a flicker of doubt crossed his mind—what was she so surprised about?
After a moment of standoff, Mu Qinzhen gave a light cough and said, somewhat awkwardly, “Can I hold you out?”
Little Yu’er’s big eyes rolled around as her little brain worked.
Her mother had said not to let strangers hold her, but she felt this uncle who looked like her brother wasn’t a bad person, and she really wanted to get close to him.
So, Little Yu’er hugged her little black dog tighter and nodded heavily.
Mu Qinzhen’s stiff face relaxed a fraction, a faint trace of a smile hidden in his eyes. Rigidly yet gently, he lifted the tiny little ball of flesh.
It was his first time touching such a soft, squishy little creature. Mu Qinzhen moved stiffly, one hand supporting the baby’s bottom, the other bracing her back, frozen in place.
A wave of milky fragrance hit his nose, and for a moment, Mu Qinzhen was lost in it—so soft, so sweet!
Little Yu’er rested her little head against the strange uncle’s chest, her little nose nuzzling and sniffing like a puppy.
So fragrant! He was the most fragrant person she’d ever smelled, besides her mother and brother!
Mu Qinzhen was caught between laughter and tears as the little one nuzzled him. His tone was warm as he asked, “Little one, what’s your name?”
Little Yu’er puffed out her little chest and said in a milky voice, “My name is Zhiyu, and my nickname is Little Yu’er!”
The little one loved her name—it was so much prettier than names like Zhaodi, Xiaohua, or Erya in town. So whenever someone asked her name, she was always so proud.
Mu Qinzhen was amused by the little one, and reaching up, he plucked a pine needle from her little bun. Seeing the proud, coquettish look on her face, he praised, “Little Yu’er, that’s a lovely name.”
Hehehe~
The praised Little Yu’er giggled in her milky way, showing off a row of tiny baby teeth.
The attendants nearby were all stunned speechless watching their master hold a child, though they also found the little baby quite clever and adorable.
Meanwhile, Gao Zhuoyuan was secretly dejected—why wouldn’t the little baby let him hold her? He thought he was far more approachable than their cold-faced prince!
Inside the farmhouse
Qiao Yan had assigned study tasks to the two children, then hoisted a hoe and went to dig up sweet potatoes. These sweet potatoes were already ripe, and she needed to dig them all up quickly and turn them into sweet potato starch.
Ever since she’d gotten the sweet potatoes from the system, she’d carefully cultivated the seedlings. Three years later, that single sweet potato had spawned countless descendants.
She’d also turned the harvested sweet potatoes into starch and sold it to the restaurants, signing a long-term agreement with them.
Because she had children to raise and a system task to earn at least two hundred taels of silver a month, she hadn’t reported the sweet potatoes to the court. It wouldn’t be too late to report them once she’d built up some savings.
Swinging her hoe and harvesting the heavy fruits of her labor, Qiao Yan was in high spirits. She had kids, money, a career, and hope—life was truly wonderful!
Meanwhile, the Salted Fish System lounged on a recliner, sipping cola and scrolling through short videos, and chimed in with a lazy, milky sigh: Yeah! Truly wonderful!
Choosing this host had really been the right call—she earned Points to buy snacks and clothes, bringing her one step closer to being a true little salted fish.
Qiao Yan was digging sweet potatoes with great enthusiasm when suddenly the Little Milk System in her Sea of Consciousness let out a startled cry.
[Oh no, Host! There are people outside the courtyard wall—Little Yu’er has been caught!]
Hearing this, Qiao Yan’s digging motion halted, and the hoe split a sweet potato clean in two. She frowned immediately and asked coldly, “How many on their side?”
[Eight]
With that, Qiao Yan shouldered her hoe and charged furiously toward the courtyard gate.
She ran to the gate, and before she could open it, she heard a knock at the door.
She gripped the hoe in one hand and opened the door with the other, mentally plotting how she would bring the person down with a single swing of the hoe.
Creak
The door opened, and Qiao Yan saw a handsome man standing at the threshold, dressed in dark brocade robes with python patterns and cloud-embroidered sleeves, a white jade belt cinched at his waist.
When Little Milk System caught sight of the man’s appearance, it was immediately startled and began chattering noisily in Qiao Yan’s ear.
【Oh my, oh my, Host, how does this man look exactly like Xiao Chuan’er? Could he be the father of the two kids?!】
Qiao Yan’s head throbbed from the racket, and she instinctively ordered, “Xiao Tongzi, shut up!”
He was indeed the cheap father of her two children!
The man’s ink-black hair was tied up neatly with a golden crown, his bearing imposing, his features striking, and his eyes like cold stars or dark ink.
And her little daughter was being held in this man’s arms, tilting her face up to smile at her ingratiatingly.
Mu Qinzhen studied the woman before him, a chill radiating from his presence. This face—he would never forget it in a lifetime!
But four years had passed, and she seemed to have changed greatly!
She wore a simple robe of pale green coarse linen, her black hair loosely pinned up with a wooden hairpin, her skin like ice and bones like jade, a pair of almond-shaped eyes lively and clear, her willow brows slightly furrowed. Though she wore no makeup, her beauty was boundless.
Qiao Yan didn’t understand why this bastard of a man, who had exiled her for four years, had suddenly appeared. Reining in her thoughts, she darkened her expression, took Xiao Yu’er back from his arms, and with a blank face and a tone tinged with impatience, asked, “What are you here for?”
Whatever he was here for, the matter of the two children probably couldn’t be hidden any longer—after all, her son looked like he’d been stamped from the same mold as him!
At that thought, Qiao Yan felt a surge of irritation. If he tried to fight her for the children, she’d take them and flee far away!
Mu Qinzhen heard her lukewarm tone, and the chill in his eyes deepened.
This woman! She was really something!
Xiao Yu’er felt the tense atmosphere between her mother and the handsome uncle was a bit unsettling and couldn’t help worrying about her own little bottom.
Her mother was so angry—would she get a spanking when they went back?
With that in mind, the little one obediently nuzzled against her mother’s cheek and, in a sweet, childish voice, shifted the blame: “Mommy~ Baby didn’t mean to run out, it’s just that Little Blackie was being naughty and left the yard, and I was worried he’d get lost, so I followed him out~”
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