"Ningning, did you wash your hands clean?"
Seeing the little child run towards the kitchen right after putting down the junk, Zhan Xi, who was chopping wood in the yard, felt a twitch in his eyelids and stopped the child.
"Dad, Ningning washed them already!"
"Nonsense, I've been watching you since you came in. You haven't washed your hands at all. Come here."
Zhan Xi put down the axe in his hand and called the little child over. There was a faucet in the yard. He turned on the tap and put the little child's dark, grubby hands under the running water to start washing them.
"Next time you don't wash your hands, I'll lock the kitchen door."
"Dad, a little dirt won't hurt, eat it and you won't get sick."
"……"
Zhan Xi's face almost turned as dark as the little child's hands. He scrubbed the little black hands clean, then gave the little child a light smack on the bottom: "Where did you learn that? A little dirt won't hurt? Eat dirty things and you will get sick."
The little child, having been smacked on the bottom by Dad, didn't care at all and rubbed his own bottom before heading to the kitchen.
Uncle Ling Qi was simmering meat soup in the kitchen. The meat soup, paired with soft, flaky little pancakes, was especially fragrant.
Soon.
The child, sitting at the small kitchen table, had a belly stretched round and full.
Zhan Xi looked at the child walking out, his belly round again. He sighed: "He burned off some energy picking up junk earlier, but now it's all back."
The little child touched his belly and grinned foolishly at his dad.
Night fell.
The little child slept alone. He skillfully set up the Star Device and then lay down on his small bed. After he lay down, the screen of the Star Device was just at the right angle to shine on him.
"Brother, Ningning is going to sleep now."
The little child covered himself with his blankie and spoke to his brother on the other side of the screen, his voice soft and milky.
He now slept completely separately from Dad and Uncle Ling Qi. Dad and Uncle Ling Qi shared one room, and he slept in his own.
His little room was very nice; Dad had decorated it according to his preferences.
But the little child, sleeping alone, was still a little scared. When he was scared, he didn't sleep well at night and would have nightmares.
Upon learning this, Huo Lin thought for a few seconds, then bought a small stand for the little child, so the star communicator could be placed on it. This way, they could video call.
Besides video calls, Huo Lin sometimes came over in person to sleep with him.
"Mm, go to sleep."
Huo Lin, wearing pajamas of the same style as the little child's, sat on the bed. He watched the little child close his eyes and waited until his breathing gradually became steady before lying down to sleep himself.
The next morning.
The little child sat at the breakfast table, looking a bit dazed. It was unclear whether he hadn't slept well or was just lost in thought.
Ling Qi counted the days and put a candy in the little child's pocket: "Here you go. You haven't had candy for a few days, you can have one today."
The little child, who could actually trick someone into giving him candy every single day: "..."
The little child tilted his chubby face up, politely thanked Uncle Ling Qi, and patted his pocket. His little chubby face, which had been dull just moments ago, was now restored to its usual glow.
At the table, the pot they used for serving rice was a bit bigger than before.
The little child had grown a little. His height hadn't increased much, but the rice pot had grown with him. As the little child ate his meal now, gobbling down big mouthfuls, his little appearance hadn't changed at all.
The family had a habit of chatting while eating.
Zhan Xi looked at the little child busily eating and spoke up: "Ningning, you're about to graduate from kindergarten soon. Are you confident?"
Graduation from the kindergarten affiliated with the Imperial Military Academy wasn't as relaxed as at other kindergartens.
The little child understood the meaning in his father's words. He proudly puffed out his little chest and answered: "Ningning will definitely graduate!"
Time flew by. The little child now was not the same as the three-year-old little child of before.
He was five years old now, a student in the senior class.
Graduating this year meant he could move up to elementary school.
Zhan Xi looked at the grains of rice stuck to the little child's face, and his appearance which hadn't changed much from before. He said earnestly: "Baby, you're going to be an elementary school student soon. You need to be a bit more steady, understand?"
"Mm! Ningning understands!"
After saying this, the little child handed his rice bowl over: "Dad, give Ningning another bowl of rice."
Zhan Xi refilled his bowl, then added a reminder: "After you finish eating, put a few more cartons of milk in your school bag to drink at school."
"Dad, can you bring sweet milk for Ningning today?"
"No."
Worried that his child might not grow properly, Zhan Xi specially consulted other parents and subscribed to a full year of children's growth milk for the little one. This kind of children's growth milk isn't very sweet, and some kids don't really like drinking it.
His child was one of those who didn't like this kind.
"Dad, then can Ningning ask the teacher to put sugar in the milk?" The little one had loved sweet tastes since he was tiny. Without sugar, he wouldn't drink the milk willingly without supervision.
Zhan Xi continued to refuse: "I'll have the teacher watch you finish the milk."
Hearing this, the little one immediately became anxious.
Having the teacher watch him drink milk was too embarrassing. Even the kids in the younger class didn't need teachers to supervise them doing things!
Not wanting to be embarrassed, the little child finally wilted his little face and promised his dad that he would drink the milk properly.
With this distraction at the breakfast table, after sending the little one to school, Zhan Xi looked at Ling Qi, who was tidying up the house, and only then belatedly remembered: "Oh right, I forgot to ask Ningning again, what is he saving up money for by collecting junk every day? Don't tell me he's planning to buy imported chocolate."
"It's not for buying chocolate."
Ling Qi glanced at Zhan Xi, as if thinking his brain worked too slowly: "Think about it, what important day is in two months?"
Zhan Xi: "..."
Under Ling Qi's gaze, Zhan Xi really did think hard for a moment.
After a while, he slapped his head and said with sudden enlightenment: "Got it, in two months he's graduating. Is he saving up for the graduation party?"
When kindergarten ends, there is a very big party.
All the kids will attend then, each wearing beautiful clothes. After listening to the principal's speech, they will clench their little fists and say goodbye to their kindergarten selves.
Kindergarten is the beginning, and elementary school is when they truly step into their learning journey.
Anyway, this kindergarten graduation party is still very grand.
Zhan Xi thought that the little one might be preparing some attire to attend the party.
"Idiot."
Ling Qi couldn't listen anymore and said, "In two months, besides Ningning's graduation, there's also Linlin's birthday. It's his birthday, and Ningning wants to buy him a gift."
Huo Lin is the Crown Prince of the Empire. On his birthday, gifts are the last thing he lacks.
But the little one still insists on giving his brother a gift.
When he was younger, he didn't have money to buy his brother a present, so on the birthday itself, he would "serve" his brother all day long, acting as his little shadow, pouring tea and water for him, and even tilting his little face up for his brother to pinch and kiss.
Finally, the little child would even get into his brother's bed ahead of time, warming up the blankets for him.
Thinking back to the little child's behavior on Huo Lin's birthday last year, Zhan Xi twitched the corner of his mouth: "That's why he wouldn't even let me keep the money he got from selling scraps for him."
The two adults chatted for a while, then changed the subject.
Their scrap business was doing very well, and the items they collected now even included scrapped mechas. With more things coming in, there were naturally more ways to make money.
Before long.
The two drove to the scrap yard. On the way, Ling Qi asked, "Isn't this tricycle a bit old? Want to refurbish it later?"
"Sure, I'll repaint it. Picking up Ningning tonight, he'll definitely be happy."
While the adults worked to earn money and support the family, the little child naturally had to study hard.
At school.
The little child put his schoolbag away, then took out his milk. He turned his head and asked Roy, "Roy, lend me your knife for a bit."
"Okay."
The little child took the knife and cut open the top of the milk carton. After opening it, he put the chocolate someone had given him and the candies he got that morning into the milk.
Seeing him put candies in his milk, Roy specifically gave him another handful of candy: "Here, soak these in your milk too. My cousin got married, and he gave out lots of candy."
The little child held a big handful of candy, his chubby face full of emotion: "Roy, thank you, you're really my good friend!"
Hearing the little one's words, the other kids couldn't sit still.
"Hmph, Roy's candy isn't as sweet as mine. My candy was brought back from abroad. My dad said this is premium candy! Ningning, here, it's all for you."
"Ningning, my cookies are sweet too!"
The little one had excellent relationships in the class. In just this short break time, he received a huge pile of candy and cookies.
The other children didn't want to be outdone by Roy.
Little Ningning, munching on the snacks the children had given him, was also extremely happy.
The days passed by at a leisurely pace.
Come evening, the scrap yard got a big job, and Zhan Xi and Ling Qi were too busy to pick up the child, so they had to ask Huo Lin's driver to do it instead.
Ningning didn't mind who came to pick him up. He got in the car and put his school bag aside.
"Give me your bag."
Huo Lin had a habit of checking his textbooks and homework. After taking the bag, Huo Lin unzipped it and saw the candy wrappers and biscuit crumbs inside.
"Ningning, how much candy did you eat today?"
"Just a tiny bit."
Ningning had snuck away his brother's Star Device and was now watching videos on it. He was a senior kindergarten kid now and could recognize many more words.
The account his brother had registered wasn't particularly popular; the number of followers hadn't skyrocketed, but it was still decent.
Huo Lin had used the account to make a little money and gave it to Uncle Zhan, but Uncle Zhan didn't place much importance on it. After accepting the money, Uncle Zhan told him that the two kids didn't need to worry about earning money.
After the two children started their account, Zhan Xi had looked into the potential profits involved.
The profits were pretty high.
But he still didn't want the kids to know that they were eating just to make money from videos. At first, this realization might not have bothered the child.
But over time, it would still put pressure on him.
He didn't stop the two kids from continuing to make videos, but after he talked to them, they both came to see it as a way to record memories, not to make money.
"Brother, look, Ningning is getting praised again."
