As a result, the last time he noticed the kid, the little one was buttering him up. The lady told the kid that this was something he learned from a dog. Now, every time the kid wants to flatter him, he acts .
The little boat gently swayed upstream, while the lady and the kid were staring at the fish, figuring out the tastiest way to cook them. Suddenly, the kid, with a pouty face ready to cry, said, "Sis, can I not go home? I’d rather stay here where there’s always delicious food. I don’t want to go to pre-school!"
The lady hurriedly pacified him saying, "Have you forgotten? We agreed to come back and play next time. Your sister and brother will be starting school soon, and we all have to attend school. We can only play again when the holidays arrive..."
The kid was not tricked, "You’re lying. I’ve never seen you go to school..."
Listening to the lady racking her brain for reasons to coax the kid, Yan Fei couldn’t help but chuckle.
Indeed, children these days are getting harder and harder to fool.
The investment inspection by the Japanese businessmen belongs to the past. These days, Yan Fei, when free, takes the kid and his wife out to enjoy the beautiful landscapes. Besides the polluted river, there are two other rivers where they can cruise upstream, catch fish, and hunt for shrimps. The kid is ecstatic about this and seems to have entirely forgotten about his pre-school commitments.
They said that negotiations with the county were not going well. The Japanese kept focusing on their cattle farm and proposed many more conditions. However, the authorities understood Yan Fei’s situation, and after some thought, concluded that Yan Fei would never agree to their conditions. Refusing out of necessity, they made some half-hearted persuasions over the phone.
Originally, their persuasion wasn’t determined, so Yan Fei had no reservations about declining.
These matters didn’t create any real impact on Yan Fei’s life, but he’s remained vigilant. The more conditions the others proposed, the more wary he became. Apparently, the foreigners seem to be unyielding, and who knows what measures they might resort to in the future.
But if they were to play fair, he wouldn’t be afraid. If they resort to underhanded tactics, he would be even less alarmed.
Anyway, the negotiations are still ongoing. He presumed that even if the other party had any methods, they would wait until the impact of this investment subsided, or else, wouldn’t their ambitions be blatantly exposed?
So, he was pretty relaxed.
However, for his younger brother, the good times were almost over. In a blink of an eye, they had played for several days. Even if Yan Fei wanted to indulge the kid, his parents would not agree. Just this morning, his parents took advantage of the weekend and planned to take the child back home.
Although his parents hadn’t mentioned taking him back yet, the smart little fellow already sensed danger. Now, he has started begging for his brother and sister-in-law to come up with a strategy to extend his playtime for a few more days.
Unfortunately, no one could help him at this point, not even throwing a tantrum would probably work. He was definitely going home.
Listening to the kid’s naive ’strategizing’ with the lady, hoping to extend his stay, Yan Fei secretly chuckled within. In a blink of an eye, the boat had reached the side of the big shed.
Letting the lady take the unwilling kid back first, Yan Fei dragged the boat ashore, cleaned the fish by the riverside before heading back. Being a monster really had its perks, he didn’t even need a knife to clean the fish, his nails sufficed.
Carrying the fish back, he looked at the two newly built worm sheds with satisfaction. These were just finished yesterday. These days Yan Fei was busy with a big and little person, and had no time to put worms in there.
No sooner had he walked beside the hut, he heard the kid ’negotiating’ with his parents by reciting the few Tang Dynasty poems he had learned from his sister-in-law, hoping to delay his return home with an excellent performance.
However, it was evident that no matter he recited Tang Dynasty poems or even Song Dynasty poems and Yuan Dynasty lyrics, it was likely all in vain.
After eating lunch, Yan Fei’s father chatted with Yan Fei for a bit, and then was ready to leave. When Yan Fei’s mother came out from inside, she asked, "Why isn’t Xiaochao coming out? What is he hiding inside for?"
Yanfei’s father was startled: "Isn’t he here? Wasn’t he playing with you two?"
"No!" Yanfei’s mom immediately became anxious. "The naughty kid left without a sound. I thought he went to find you..."
Before Yanfei’s father could say anything, Xu Xiaoyan reminded, "Could it be that he doesn’t want to go back with you and is hiding somewhere?"
The kid had looked hopeless at dinner time, his eyes teary, and eating his fried burnt fish with no appetite. After eating, he persistently muttered that he would not go back. With a kid’s stubbornness, he suddenly disappeared. His parents were panicking.
As Yan Fei was about to show a trace of worry, he suddenly tilted his ear to listen and then laughed, "Mom, dad, it’s fine. Follow me, I know where he is."
Saying that, he led a few people to the riverside. The scene by the river left them torn between feeling anxious and laughter. They didn’t know how to express their feelings at that moment.
They saw that the kid was muddy all over, looking like a little mud doll, even his face was covered in mud. At that moment, he was pouting, sitting on the boat, and wrapping himself up in circles with a rope, mumbling something to himself.
Others couldn’t hear it, but Yan Fei could. The kid was muttering, "I’ll tie myself to the boat, let’s see how you take me home then..."