The First Uncle called over the chubby kid, Wagner, and Lele, and after feeling their bellies one by one, he found that all their little tummies were round and full. Though his face showed no expression, he said, "Eat a little less at dinner later."
Their bellies were already so full, and eating too much at dinner wouldn’t be good for digestion.
The little child wasn’t happy. "I’ll be hungry."
The First Uncle glared at him, looking at his chubby cheeks, both angry and tempted to poke them. "I haven’t even said anything about you yet. How come you’re still so chubby after several days of training?"
"I’m not chubby!" the little child huffed, annoyed. "I’m growing!"
The First Uncle wasn’t buying it and replied coldly, "Other kids grow taller when they’re growing. But you? You’re growing sideways."
The little child: "..."
The little child was fuming.
Seeing the little child all puffed up with anger, the First Uncle pinched his cheeks and said, "Alright, channel that energy into your training. I’ve heard your Imperial Kindergarten has regular fitness assessments and some standards to meet."
"Before school starts, I’ll make sure you meet those standards."
The little child wanted to refuse, but the strict First Uncle picked him up and shook him a little, then said in a low voice, "Talk back, and I’ll add more training."
The little child: "..."
He wanted to cry out loud, but he remembered it was the sacrificial festival, and he couldn’t cry too loudly.
It wasn’t that he cared about the festival’s rules—he was just afraid that if he broke them, this First Uncle would make him run an extra thousand meters.
Holding back his tears, the little child’s eyes welled up, feeling like life was truly difficult.
He just wanted to go home.
After coming down from the mountain, the little child didn’t mention the strange uncle he saw to the adults.
Savi stopped him from speaking.
If the adults found out that they went out to play, especially at that place, there was no doubt that they would all be punished.
First Uncle lived up to his name, managing to firmly control the little child.
Since Wagner, Lele, and Savi's weights were all within the normal range, the little child was the only one who felt like lifting a weight when picked up.
Moreover, school was about to start, and there would be a physical fitness test after school began.
First Uncle had spoken, insisting that the little child meet the standard in the physical test.
It was still dark outside.
The little child was yanked out of bed by First Uncle, dressed, shoes put on, and then had a toothbrush stuffed into his chubby little hand. First Uncle looked down at him from above and said, "Alright, brush your teeth and wash your face. After that, go for a run before breakfast."
The little child: "..."
The little child held the toothbrush in a daze, feeling as if his whole soul had left his body.
First Uncle was tormenting the little child.
Under First Uncle's special training, the little child sadly called his dad.
However, what the little child didn’t expect was that his dad had already spoken to First Uncle before his call.
Zhan Xi was more than satisfied with First Uncle's training.
Zhan Xi had seen Savi before. Savi’s small body was sturdy, and upon further inquiry, Zhan Xi learned that Savi had never been sick growing up.
Zhan Xi had always wanted to study how Savi's family trained him. Now that the elder in Savi's family was putting in so much effort to help his own child exercise, Zhan Xi was beyond pleased—he couldn’t be more happy, let alone dissatisfied.
His child occasionally got sick, and for every adult, a child's illness was a big deal.
So, when the little child called, Zhan Xi gently coaxed him: "First Uncle just wants to help you get stronger. Our Ningning is the best; you can definitely keep going, right?"
The little child: "..."
The little child hung up the phone, crying, and then called his older brother.
Huo Lin, while feeling sorry for the little child, didn’t say anything about bringing him back.
That was because Uncle Zhan had already explained the benefits of the little child’s exercise in advance.
He, along with Uncle Zhan, Uncle Ling Qi, and even his parents, still spoiled the little child a bit. If they had to be strict and make the child exercise, they wouldn't be able to bear it.
Even though they knew that if the child exercised more, he'd be healthier and less likely to get sick, they still couldn't bring themselves to do it.
The child hated being tired. If he cried and snuggled into their arms, complaining about how tired he was, their hearts would surely soften.
But now things were different. Someone else was helping to train the little child.
Huo Lin felt grateful to this First Uncle, though he didn't praise him in front of child.
Savi's First Uncle had helped train child's body. Now, if only there was someone who could help manage child's studies with him and Uncle Zhan, that would be ideal.
"Ningning."
Huo Lin suppressed his thoughts and continued, "I bought you the latest model of a car. You can play with your friends and drive it around on Sunday."
Huo Lin knew how to coax the little child. After talking about toys, he moved on to food: "Also, during the New Year, the palace received many local specialties from different regions. We haven't touched most of them; they're all saved for you."
Soon, the child, comforted by his brother, stopped crying.
After the call with his brother ended, the child still missed him terribly.
It was so hard to ask for red envelopes, and making money from adults was really difficult.
The child rubbed his chubby face, feeling like this trip to collect red envelopes was way too tough.
Just after child finished his phone call, First Uncle was about to start his exercise regimen.
Faced with this pressure, the child resisted with all his might. He raised his chubby face and bravely looked at First Uncle. "Ningning doesn't want to lose weight anymore!"
First Uncle: "?"
First Uncle: "Then what do you want to do?"
The child originally wanted to say he wanted to sleep, but seeing the look on the First Uncle's face, he quickly changed his mind. "Ningning... Ningning wants to study!"
But there was no schoolbag here, and the child didn’t have his homework notebook either.
His desire to study might not be easily fulfilled.
Afraid that First Uncle would invite a tutor like his aunt did, the child grabbed his First Uncle's hand and made a more specific request: "Ningning wants to do homework, the homework from Imperial Kindergarten!"
Since Savi wasn’t a student at their Imperial Kindergarten, he obviously didn’t have any homework from there.
The child felt this request was extremely tricky!
First Uncle looked down at the little child, and the little child looked up at First Uncle.
The two, one big and one small, stared at each other for a while. Under the slightly proud gaze of the little child, First Uncle nodded.
"Alright, you want to do homework, huh? I'll let you do your homework."
After saying that, First Uncle pinched his chubby cheeks and turned to leave.
