Tuantuan feared that if he delayed any longer, his short little legs wouldn’t be able to catch up with Si Konghuai’s long strides.
He patted Yuanyuan’s shoulder and immediately dashed out.
“Tuanbao, where are you going!”
“Mom, brother went to pee!”
Yuanyuan desperately held onto Xia Mingyu’s hand, his chubby face turning red with effort, preventing her from chasing after them.
The brothers shared a telepathic understanding – he knew his brother was going to ask Si Konghuai for money.
Money was really important! They absolutely had to have it!
With Yuanyuan covering for him, Tuantuan mustered all his strength and rushed toward the village entrance.
Finally, Tuantuan caught up with Si Konghuai and Lu Ning just before they left the village.
“Wait!”
“Don’t go!”
Tuantuan shouted at them fiercely, panting heavily, his breath coming out in hot puffs.
“Hmm?”
Hearing Tuantuan’s voice, Si Konghuai turned back in confusion, raising an eyebrow while feeling somewhat secretly pleased.
Had Xia Mingyu changed her mind and didn’t want him to leave?
Did she specifically send Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan to chase after him?
However, when he turned around, he only saw Tuantuan’s figure.
“You’re not allowed to leave!”
Finally catching up, Tuantuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Afraid that Si Konghuai might leave just like that, Tuantuan immediately hugged Si Konghuai’s thigh.
Before Si Konghuai could even feel happy about Tuantuan’s closeness, he was utterly crushed by the boy’s words.
“You haven’t paid us yet!”
“Didn’t you say you would compensate us with money? Are you going back on your word?”
Tuantuan glared fiercely at Si Konghuai while questioning him, then added threateningly:
“I already know where your house is! If you don’t pay, I’ll bring my brother to your house to demand it!”
“And Grandpa! He really likes me, he’ll definitely give me money!”
After figuring out his identity, Tuantuan cleverly brought up Sikong Old Master, attempting to pressure Si Konghuai.
Si Konghuai immediately felt disappointed, regret coloring his eyes.
He directly picked Tuantuan up.
“Let me go! Don’t hold me! You bad person!”
Tuantuan struggled desperately, even punching Si Konghuai’s shoulder once – his small fist was quite strong.
Moreover, he was as slippery as an eel and hard to hold onto properly. Lu Ning stood nearby, laughing so hard he couldn’t straighten up.
“Si Konghuai, you’ve finally met your match! These two sons of yours are here to tame you!”
“But he’s so agile, and his little arms and legs are quite strong – he looks like good military material. Following in his father’s footsteps, hahaha.”
Si Konghuai couldn’t be bothered to respond to Lu Ning’s schadenfreude.
He corrected Tuantuan: “That’s your Great-Grandfather, not Grandpa. You’ve got the generation wrong.”
“Of course I’ll keep my word. Don’t get so worked up.”
“Hmph!”
How could he not get worked up when held by a bad person?
But under Si Konghuai’s soothing, Tuantuan gradually stopped struggling, instead crossing his arms and glaring fiercely at Si Konghuai.
He carried quite the imposing aura of a great leader.
Si Konghuai deliberately teased Tuantuan, poking his chubby cheek while asking with mischievous amusement:
“You’ve really memorized the way home? Are you sure you can find your way there?”
“If you can tell me the correct route, I’ll grant you one condition.”
“Of course I remember! I’m not a three-year-old child!”
He was already four years old, and his memory was excellent!
Tuantuan repeated the route angrily.
This time, he didn’t confuse the train routes to Jing Shi and back from Jing Shi.
From Si Konghuai’s home to the train station, how many intersections he passed, where to turn, and where to go straight—he remembered everything clearly.
As Si Konghuai listened, his expression gradually grew serious.
Tuantuan was so young, yet he possessed a photographic memory—this was truly the mark of a genius!
Moreover, he could remember even complex routes with perfect clarity, making him perfect material for a scout.
“That’s very impressive, not a single mistake.”
“You must take after your mother. Both of you will achieve great things in the future.”
Si Konghuai patted Tuantuan’s fluffy little head and praised him without hesitation.
“Tell me, how much money do you want?”
Si Konghuai smiled faintly, wanting to hear if Tuantuan understood the value of money.
Unexpectedly, Tuantuan didn’t answer directly upon hearing his question.
Tuantuan looked at Si Konghuai haughtily and retorted, “How much money do you have?”
“Are you saying you want all the money I have?” Si Konghuai raised an eyebrow, looking at Tuantuan with an amused expression.
Tuantuan fell into deep thought. That seemed a bit too greedy, and besides, if he asked for too much, Si Konghuai might not agree.
This heartless man probably wouldn’t be willing to give much anyway. It certainly wouldn’t be a large amount.
Tuantuan frowned in frustration, his delicate and adorable little face scrunching up.
After a long while, he finally said, “Then just give me five hundred yuan.”
“One hundred yuan per year!” Tuantuan made an exorbitant demand.
His dark, bright eyes fixed on Si Konghuai as he provided an analysis: “My mother has taken care of us for five years. One hundred yuan per year for three people means each person only spends a little over thirty yuan.”
“You’re so rich! Great-Grandfather said that chocolate is really expensive! Thirty yuan for such a small amount! But your family has so much of it!”
Tuantuan spoke with conviction, even providing examples.
From this, it was clear he wasn’t just making things up randomly.
Si Konghuai and Lu Ning were once again astonished by Tuantuan.
“How do you know that one hundred yuan divided among three people is just over thirty yuan per person? Did you calculate that yourself?”
How old was he, and he could already handle such complex arithmetic? Moreover, he did it mentally, quickly and accurately.
Tuantuan looked at Si Konghuai disdainfully. “Of course I calculated it myself. You didn’t tell me.”
“Are you bad at math? Can’t you even figure out such a simple problem? Yuanyuan is even faster and better at math than I am.”
As he spoke, Tuantuan felt a bit sorry for these two adults. It was quite pitiful that they couldn’t even outperform a child.
Tuantuan shook his head with an air of maturity.
Both Si Konghuai and Lu Ning were amused by him.
Tuantuan was not only clever but also pretended to be mature, acting like a little adult—it was truly entertaining.
Now Si Konghuai began to understand why Sikong Old Master was so eager to have a great-grandson.
Who wouldn’t want such an adorable child?
Si Konghuai smiled, his mood cheerful as he pinched Tuantuan’s little cheek.
“Five hundred yuan really isn’t much.”
“I’ll give you two thousand yuan first. Take it back and hide it. If you give it directly to your mother, she probably won’t accept it. Wait a while before taking it out.”
Si Konghuai instructed him.
“If you, Yuanyuan, and your mother really don’t want to come to Jing Shi with me, I’ll try to visit you every month.”
“I’ll give you one hundred yuan every month, okay? If there’s anything you want, you can tell me, and I’ll bring it for you.”
“Can you remember a phone number from home if I recite it for you?”
Si Konghuai had already withdrawn the money earlier, but Xia Mingyu was resisting him so fiercely with such an intense attitude that he didn’t know how to give it to her.
Now it was just right to let Tuantuan hold it.
Si Konghuai stuffed the money into Tuantuan’s pockets, filling them to the brim.
Tuantuan was stunned—was this bad father really so generous?
Two thousand yuan—how many times was that compared to five hundred yuan?
Tuantuan couldn’t help but start counting on his fingers.
Four times!
And he even said he would give them a hundred yuan every month!
Pork cost one yuan per jin—with a hundred yuan, they could buy…
“Wait! If we only have money and no meat coupons, we still can’t buy meat to eat!”
Tuantuan suddenly looked up—oh no, he’d forgotten such an important detail!
Meanwhile, Xia Mingyu had already calmed everyone down.
Of course, she wouldn’t open the things Si Konghuai had given them right then and there—who knew if he might have put money inside?
Or if he had bought other expensive items—it wouldn’t look good if everyone saw.
She only opened one bag of candy, distributed it to everyone, and thanked them for taking care of her and her two children over the years.
Having received a treat, everyone stopped pressing the issue.
However, some busybodies had already gone to the Qiao family to tell Li Zhaodi the good news.
Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan’s biological father had come!
Li Zhaodi had been wailing all night and had no energy left today.
What’s more, she didn’t know where Xia Mingyu had hidden the food. Even if she crawled out on her own, she couldn’t find any grain to cook a meal.
She was hungry, exhausted, and worried about her son.
Now, hearing that Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan’s biological father had arrived, how could she hold back? Even though Xia Mingyu had taught her a lesson and she was still a bit scared, hatred overpowered her fear.
After all, she was already in this wretched state—if no one took care of her, she probably wouldn’t live much longer anyway.
But Xia Mingyu and those two little bastards—they wouldn’t get off easy!
Using only her hands, Li Zhaodi dragged herself from the Qiao family all the way to Zhao Jianguo’s doorstep.
She screamed hysterically:
“Where is that lover? Where is he?”
“Those two bastards, Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan, aren’t my son’s—and they might not even be yours! Did you know? Xia Mingyu sleeps with a different man every night!”
“Her body is filthy, and the bastards in her belly have a hundred fathers! If you take them in, aren’t you afraid of being cuckolded? Your ancestors would be so furious they’d jump out of their graves to curse you!!!”