Chapter 1565 - 905: Master of Keeping the Peace—Balancing Wolves in the Water vs. Playing with Mud? (Part 2)
Chapter 1565: Chapter 905: Master of Keeping the Peace—Balancing Wolves in the Water vs. Playing with Mud? (Part 2)
Hexi, Huo Family
Everyone sat around the table eating, and the atmosphere was actually not bad. Huo Qinqi barely ate anything himself; he kept picking food for his son and daughter. Kids are the most sensitive, so this bowl of water had to be held level—you couldn’t show any favoritism.
This meal was probably the hardest meal Huo Qinqi had ever eaten in his life.
Little Accident watched his father picking food for him. In his heart he was delighted, but on his face he still acted all proud and tsundere.
"What do you want to eat?" Jiang Jinsang looked at his son beside him.
They only had this one child at home, so of course all the focus was on him.
Jiang Xiaowai gripped his spoon and looked at the table full of dishes. Why was there always braised fish every time they came over for a meal...
Great-aunt loved making this dish, and somehow Great-uncle had also locked horns with fish.
Eat too much of it and it really starts to feel a bit greasy.
Nowhere near as good as a nice chicken drumstick.
"What’s wrong? Today’s food doesn’t taste good?" Liang Yun smiled as she looked at him.
"No." Jiang Xiaowai might be grumbling in his heart, but his mouth was still very sweet. "There are so many dishes, they all look so tasty, I don’t even know what to eat first. What’s Great-uncle best at cooking?"
Huo Qinqi glanced at him, picked up the serving chopsticks, and put a big piece of braised fish into his bowl. "This fish doesn’t have many bones, you can eat it without worry."
To accommodate the kids, when he bought the fish, Huo Qinqi had specially chosen one with more meat and fewer bones.
Jiang Xiaowai looked at the big chunk of fish in his little bowl, pressed his lips together, then tilted his small face up and said to him, "Thank you, Great-uncle."
He lowered his head and took a bite.
"How does it taste?" Shen Shuci smiled at him.
"It’s good." The fish Huo Qinqi made was of course excellent, it was just that Jiang Xiaowai really didn’t feel like eating fish; right now his mind was filled with nothing but big chicken drumsticks.
In order to get through the fish in his bowl as quickly as possible so he could move on to the other dishes, Jiang Xiaowai shoveled down the fish in one go.
But Huo Qinqi was an honest, straightforward man. Seeing that the child seemed to like it, he naturally put the kids first even if the adults didn’t eat, so...
He proactively gave him another big piece of fish.
Jiang Xiaowai: "Mmm..."
"If you like it, eat more." Huo Qinqi said bluntly, doing his duty as a proper elder.
Jiang Xiaowai forced out a gloomy little smile and buried his head in his rice. He decided he never wanted to come play at Little Uncle’s place again.
...
Meanwhile, between his son and daughter, Huo Qinqi was playing the role of the Master of Balancing Water.
After the meal, Jiang Jinsang’s family didn’t stay much longer. As for the Huo Family, they’d all been exhausted the whole day, so naturally each went back to their own rooms to rest.
"Qinqi, tonight you still help Tinglan take a bath. I’ve already put her change of clothes on the bed."
Huo Qinqi nodded. Once you’ve done it once, the second time is easier. Giving Little Accident a bath this time went smoothly; it was just that a certain little pink dumpling pursed her lips, feeling a bit unhappy inside.
"Come on, I’ll take you to change into your pajamas too." Shen Shuci carried her daughter toward the bedroom.
"Will Daddy help me take a bath in the future too?" The little girl’s innocent face made Shen Shuci chuckle.
"Daddy can’t help you bathe, Daddy’s a boy and you’re a girl..." Once they reach a certain age there has to be a distinction; it’s not like she’s a newborn baby anymore.
The little girl felt a bit disappointed hearing that.
"In a bit I’ll have Daddy come read you a story and put you to sleep." Shen Shuci said with a smile.
Only then did the little girl smile again.
When it came to storytelling, this was another weak spot for Huo Qinqi. He had very little experience in taking care of children, and children’s books required expressive reading; with this face and this voice of his, how was he supposed to pull that off.
And although the little girl liked model planes and such, she also loved fairy tales like "Cinderella." Huo Qinqi could only bite the bullet and open the storybook.
Little Accident sat off to the side, basically just there to hang out and join the fun.
Huo Qinqi really was gritting his teeth as he read them the story. But their little girl was probably too tired—after being in the car all day, she listened carefully to about half, then her head tilted and she fell asleep.
Only then did Huo Qinqi gently tuck her in, and then he grabbed his son and left her room.
Little Accident: "Daddy, tell me Journey to the West."
"Okay." At this stage, Huo Qinqi was still in a completely accommodating phase with his child.
It was just that the little guy got more and more excited as he listened, with not the slightest hint of sleepiness. Even Shen Shuci came by twice to urge them.
When Huo Qinqi came back to their room, Shen Shuci brought the issue up with him again:
"You can’t be like this with the kids. Sometimes you need to say no; you can’t just give in to them on everything."
"Take tonight, for example. Tinglan still has preschool tomorrow; he should’ve been asleep long ago. You can’t keep indulging him like that. There has to be a limit with some things. Little kids don’t understand, so we adults have to be the ones to hold that line for them."