Tuantuan was afraid that if he delayed any longer, his short little legs would not be able to catch up with Sikong Huai’s long strides.
He patted Yuanyuan’s shoulder and immediately dashed out as well.
“Tuantuan, where are you going!”
“Mom, brother went to pee!”
Yuanyuan tightly grabbed Xia Mingyu’s hand, his chubby face turning red as he tried to stop her from chasing after him.
The two brothers were in perfect sync. He knew his brother was going to ask Sikong Huai for money.
Money was very important! They absolutely had to have it!
With Yuanyuan helping cover for him, Tuantuan sprinted toward the village entrance with all his strength.
Finally, before Sikong Huai and Lu Ning left the village, Tuantuan caught up with them.
“Wait!”
“You’re not allowed to leave!”
Tuantuan shouted fiercely to stop them, panting heavily, his breath hot and burning.
“Hm?”
Hearing Tuantuan’s voice, Sikong Huai turned back in confusion and raised a brow, a hint of joy flashing in his heart.
Could it be that Xia Mingyu regretted it and didn’t want him to leave?
Did she specially send the children to chase after him?
However, when he turned around, he only saw Tuantuan.
“You’re not allowed to leave!”
Finally catching up, Tuantuan let out a breath of relief.
Afraid that Sikong Huai would really leave like that, he immediately hugged his leg.
Before Sikong Huai could even feel happy about the child’s closeness, he was struck hard by Tuantuan’s words.
“You haven’t given us the money yet!”
“Didn’t you say you would compensate us with money? Are you going back on your word?”
Tuantuan glared fiercely at Sikong Huai, then threatened him.
“I already know where your house is. If you don’t give us the money, I’ll take my younger brother to your house to ask for it!”
“And my great-grandfather! He likes me a lot—he’ll definitely give me money!”
After figuring out his family relations, Tuantuan even cleverly brought up the old master of the Sikong family, trying to pressure Sikong Huai.
Sikong Huai immediately felt disappointed, a trace of regret appearing in his eyes.
He directly picked Tuantuan up.
“Let go of me! Don’t hold me! Bad guy!”
Tuantuan struggled hard, even punching Sikong Huai on the shoulder. His small fist actually had quite a bit of strength.
And he was as slippery as an eel—hard to hold on to. Lu Ning on the side laughed so hard he could barely stand.
“Sikong Huai, you’ve met your match today. These two kids are here to deal with you!”
“Still, this kid is quite agile. Strong little arms and legs—he looks like good military material. Definitely a soldier in the making, haha!”
Sikong Huai ignored Lu Ning’s teasing.
He corrected Tuantuan:
“That’s your great-grandfather, not great-grandfather’s father. You got the generations wrong.”
“And of course I keep my word. Don’t get so excited.”
“Hmph!”
Being held by a “bad guy,” how could he not be excited?
Still, under Sikong Huai’s calming tone, Tuantuan gradually stopped struggling and instead crossed his arms, glaring at him with a domineering expression.
Very much like a little leader.
Sikong Huai deliberately teased him, poking his soft cheek.
“Have you really remembered the way home? Are you sure you can find your way back?”
“If you can describe the correct route, I’ll agree to one condition.”
“Of course I remember! I’m not a three-year-old!”
He was already four years old—his memory was very good!
Tuantuan huffed and repeated the route seriously.
This time, he didn’t confuse the train route between the capital city and the return trip.
From Sikong Huai’s house to the train station, which intersections to pass, where to turn, where to go straight—he remembered everything clearly.
Sikong Huai’s expression gradually became serious as he listened.
Such a young child already had photographic memory—he was truly a genius!
And he could remember such a complicated route perfectly. He was practically born to be a reconnaissance soldier.
“Very impressive. Not a single mistake.”
“You must take after your mother. You’ll all have great futures.”
Sikong Huai patted Tuantuan’s fluffy little head and praised him without hesitation.
“Go ahead, how much money do you want?”
He smiled lightly, curious to see whether the child even understood money amounts.
Unexpectedly, Tuantuan did not answer directly.
He looked at Sikong Huai proudly and asked instead:
“How much money do you have?”
“You mean you want however much I have?”
Sikong Huai raised a brow, smiling meaningfully.
Tuantuan fell into deep thought. That did seem a bit too greedy—and he might not even give that much.
After all, this unreliable man probably wouldn’t give much anyway.
After thinking for a long time, Tuantuan finally said:
“Then give me five hundred yuan.”
“Five hundred per year!”
He declared boldly.
“My mom took care of us for five years. One hundred per year for three people is only a bit over thirty per person.”
“You’re so rich! Great-grandfather said your chocolate is super expensive! Thirty yuan only buys a tiny bit—but your family has so much of it!”
Tuantuan spoke with confidence, even giving examples.
It was clear he wasn’t talking nonsense.
Sikong Huai and Lu Ning were stunned again.
“How do you know one hundred per year equals about thirty per person? Did you calculate that yourself?”
He was so young, yet could do such complex math—and even mental arithmetic at that, quickly and accurately.
Tuantuan looked at him with disdain.
“Of course I calculated it myself. You didn’t tell me.”
“Are you bad at math? You can’t even figure out something this simple? Yuanyuan is even faster than me at math.”
Hearing this, he even pitied the adults a little. Not even as good as children—how miserable.
Tuantuan shook his head like an old man.
Both Sikong Huai and Lu Ning found him amusing.
Smart, yet acting like a little adult—he was truly entertaining.
Now Sikong Huai understood why Old Master Sikong was so eager to have a great-grandchild.
Who wouldn’t want such a cute child?
Smiling, he pinched Tuantuan’s cheek.
“Five hundred is indeed not much.”
“I’ll give you two thousand first. Hide it properly and give it to your mother later. She probably won’t accept it immediately—wait a while before taking it out.”
“If you and Yuanyuan, and your mother, really don’t want to go to the capital with me, I will try to come see you every month.”
“I’ll give you one hundred every month. If you want anything, just tell me, and I’ll bring it for you.”
“I’ll give you a phone number for my home. Can you remember it?”
Sikong Huai had already prepared the money, but Xia Mingyu was strongly resistant, so he didn’t know how to give it.
Giving it to Tuantuan was perfect.
He stuffed the money into Tuantuan’s pocket until it was full.
Tuantuan was stunned.
This bad father was actually so generous?
Two thousand yuan—how many times was that of five hundred again?
He started counting on his fingers.
Four times!
And he said he would give them one hundred every month!
Pork was one yuan per jin—so one hundred yuan could buy…
“Wait! Without ration tickets, we can’t even buy meat!”
Tuantuan suddenly looked up, alarmed.
“I forgot something very important!”