In Luo Mingchen’s eyes, those students were all walking copper coins, so he shouted even more enthusiastically.
Some people who had originally been attracted to the candied hawthorn heard there was something cold and refreshing and curiously gathered around in small groups.
One slightly chubby boy frowned and asked, “Are these pastries any good?”
Without changing expression, Luo Mingchen smiled and replied, “Of course they’re good. Young master, if you like sweeter things, you can try the brown sugar flavor. It has red beans inside too. If you prefer something less sweet, there are these other flavors. This one is coconut milk flavor, that one is the original flavor with the fragrance of rice cake, and there’s pineapple flavor too, with pineapple inside.”
The boy stared blankly.
“You can put pineapple in it too?”
“You can.”
The boy struggled with the decision for a while before buying one of each.
“If they’re not good, I won’t come back again.”
Such an adorable thing to say made Luo Mingchen want to laugh.
“I guarantee you’ll come back next time, young master.”
The boy grinned, took the wrapped bowl cakes, skewered one with a bamboo stick, and ate as he walked away.
It really was ice-cold…
Once someone took the lead, other curious people started buying them as well. Most only bought one or two to try. There weren’t many students as generous as that boy.
The batch of bowl cakes Luo Mingchen had prepared was completely sold out by the students.
Even later, some people who had heard about them came specifically to buy some, only to be disappointed when told the stall was already closed.
Luo Mingchen comforted them by saying he would be selling there again tomorrow, and only then did they leave.
Once the crowd had thinned out a little, Huo Yuhui finally brought Huo Xiang over.
“Little Daddy! Dad!”
Huo Xiang ran over happily.
Luo Mingchen pinched the boy’s cheeks, which finally had a little flesh on them, and asked with amusement, “Why haven’t you two gone to eat yet?”
Huo Yuhui replied, “We wanted to wait and eat with both of you.”
When Huo Xinyue saw her two brothers, she happily waved her little hand.
Spotting her, Huo Xiang took her from Huo Yan’s arms and muttered, “Feels like you’ve gotten heavier.”
Huo Xinyue giggled and kissed his cheek.
“Brother.”
The moment his little sister kissed him, Huo Xiang immediately forgot all about her gaining weight. He grinned foolishly and kissed her soft cheek in return.
Then Huo Xinyue spotted her eldest brother and reached for Huo Yuhui as well. To be fair, she gave him a kiss too and naturally received one back.
Luo Mingchen watched the siblings hugging and kissing one another and couldn’t help laughing. After standing all morning, he was getting hungry too.
“Let’s go, then.”
On another street near the academy was a small restaurant.
Most of the customers there were students, and the prices weren’t very expensive.
The group sat down and ordered a few dishes. Rice was unlimited. Even if someone only ordered a single dish and one bowl of rice, they could still get more rice afterward.
Some students, however, felt such small restaurants didn’t suit their status. They would either have servants bring meals from home or eat at larger restaurants farther away.
The food here tasted fairly good.
Still, Huo Xiang felt that nothing compared to Little Daddy’s cooking.
But because Huo Yuhui had forbidden him from saying things like that, Huo Xiang kept quiet and focused on eating.
After the meal, Luo Mingchen took out the two bowl cakes he had deliberately saved for them.
Huo Xiang liked pineapple flavor the most, while Huo Yuhui preferred coconut milk.
“Here. Save them for later. But don’t leave them too long—the weather’s hot.”
“Little Daddy! You’re the best!”
Huo Xiang happily threw his arms around Luo Mingchen.
Earlier, while watching other people eat them, he had been drooling with envy.
His brother had told him not to go over because it might force Little Daddy to give them some.
Yet Little Daddy had actually saved them a portion…
Luo Mingchen laughed helplessly.
“Go back to the academy. You still have classes this afternoon. Eat these and get some rest.”
“Mhm!”
Watching the brothers head back toward the academy, Luo Mingchen finally relaxed.
Huo Xinyue became sleepy after eating and let out a little yawn.
Seeing Luo Mingchen glance his way, Huo Yan asked, “What about mine?”
Luo Mingchen raised an eyebrow.
“Are you a child too?”
But he had clearly underestimated Huo Yan’s shamelessness.
“Mhm.”
“…I’ll save one for you next time.”
The two of them didn’t return home. Instead, they went to the newly purchased residence.
There was still plenty of cleaning to do there. As for roof tiles and other materials, they could wait until after the cleaning was finished before buying them and hiring workers for repairs.
Holding the sleeping Huo Xinyue, Luo Mingchen sat in a shady spot while his water tentacles dredged and cleaned the lake.
Meanwhile, Huo Yan trimmed dead branches and misshapen growth from the plants and swept fallen leaves from the paths.
They had already completed part of the work earlier. Now they were simply finishing the remaining tasks.
Next time they would buy green bricks and roof tiles.
After the repairs were completed, they could clean the dust inside the rooms and finally move in all the furniture and supplies they had purchased.
The two worked all afternoon.
But when they arrived at the academy to pick up the children, they didn’t see the brothers waiting at their usual spot.
After waiting at the academy gate for a while and noticing that most of the students had already left, Luo Mingchen finally approached a gatekeeper.
“Big brother, have all the students gone home?”
The gatekeeper remembered them somewhat and replied, “The teacher kept them behind.”
Luo Mingchen looked puzzled.
“Why?”
“The brothers got into a fight with some other students. Since you’re here, go take a look. The servants of those students have already gone to fetch their parents.”
The moment they heard that, the two men hurried over with Huo Xinyue.
There were quite a few students being kept behind.
Besides Huo Yuhui and Huo Xiang, there were five other students around the same age.
One of them was the wealthy young boy who had bought one of every flavor earlier.
Huo Yuhui had injuries in several places, and a doctor was currently applying medicine to them.
When Teacher Mo saw them arrive, his expression improved slightly.
“You two are certainly diligent about picking up your children.”
Luo Mingchen secretly nudged Huo Yan, signaling him to speak.
Huo Yan said, “At their age, we shouldn’t really be escorting them every day. But the mountain roads are difficult, and both children are physically weak. There are no children their age on the route either. We planned to let them attend on their own after a few more months of recuperation.”
“They may be physically weak, but their courage certainly isn’t. Four people pinned them down and beat them, yet they still refused to admit defeat. If I hadn’t arrived in time, who knows how badly they might have been injured?”
As Teacher Mo spoke, his tone carried more disappointment than anger.
After all, Huo Yuhui was one of the most gifted students he had ever taught.
And Huo Xiang’s mental arithmetic was excellent. Both boys were usually so obedient.
If they ended up crippled because of this fight, wouldn’t that be a terrible waste?
When facing opponents so much stronger than themselves, everyone knew that a wise man didn’t suffer immediate losses. What was wrong with yielding a little?
Luo Mingchen frowned.
“Thank you, Teacher. But our children have always been well-behaved. Why would they get into a fight?”
Teacher Mo snorted.
“You should ask them that. The younger one was so frightened his face turned white. As for the older one, I questioned him for ages and he refused to say a word.”
Only then did Luo Mingchen walk over and take Huo Xiang’s hand.
“Xiao Xiang, why did you get into a fight with them?”
Huo Xiang had been so frightened that his gaze had remained fixed on his older brother the entire time.
The moment he saw his two fathers, he finally snapped out of it.
Throwing himself into Luo Mingchen’s arms, he burst into tears.
“Little Daddy! They stole my food and wanted to beat Brother to death! Waaaah…”