Chapter 263: We Brothers Are of One Heart, I Can’t Betray My Brother!

Chapter 263: We brothers are of one heart, I cannot betray my brother!

Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu arrived at the school just as the break was starting.

Chenchen had already finished a "masterpiece" and was showing his new gift to his little friends.

"My daddy carved it himself~~ When stamped, it shows my name~~"

Fatty and his friends, as the saying goes, "no discord, no concord," and now he's a typical "if you can't beat them, join them," enjoying himself in the preschool class.

"Chenchen, how do you play with this? Show us."

Chenchen shook his head: "This isn't for playing~~ My mommy said~~ this stamp can only be used on~~ my works~~"

Just as Uncle Mu reached the doorway, he paused: "..."

He tugged at Fu Yuanhang's clothes: "Did you hear that? I'm not your work, why did you stamp me?"

Fu Yuanhang calmly replied, "You wanted to see it. If I didn't stamp your hand, should I stamp mine? It's hard to wash off."

Uncle Mu: "?" Is it any easier to wash off my hand?

Chenchen pointed to his just-completed 'masterpiece': "This is my work~~ Wait for Uncle Shu to come~~ with ink, we can stamp it~~"

Although Dongdong had already expressed disappointment with his father's handicrafts, seeing Chenchen's stamp, he still felt quite envious.

"Chenchen, is this hard to make? My dad can't make something as big as an oven, but something this small, he should be able to, right?"

Chenchen spread his hands: "I don't know~~ You'll have to ask my daddy~~"

"Chenchen, red ink."

Chenchen's big eyes lit up, and he turned around, running towards his uncle on his short legs.

"Uncle Shu~~ I've been waiting for you so long~~"

Fu Yuanhang patted his head, took him to the table, and carefully folded a small piece of cloth several times before stuffing it into the ink bottle cap.

Then, he carefully poured a little red ink onto the cloth.

"Chenchen, you can bring the stamp over to dip it in the ink now."

Chenchen took his little stamp and gently pressed it into the bottle cap a few times.

The clever little boy even knew to lift it up and check if the ink was evenly spread.

Finding a small spot that didn't get red ink, he pressed it a couple more times.

Once the ink was evenly spread, he happily walked over to his 'masterpiece' and with a 'snap' stamped it—

The blank space of the painting immediately showed the three red characters full of paternal love: 'Fu Haochen.'

"Fu Haochen is my big name~~ This is my stamp~~ From now on, all my things will be stamped~~"

All the little friends were extremely envious.

Even Fatty said, "I really like this stamp. I'll go back and ask my dad to make one for me too."

Dongdong nodded in agreement: "I'll ask my dad to make one too!"

...

Fu Yuanhang picked up a pen and walked over, following Su Taotao's example, and wrote the date below the stamp.

Chenchen opened his eyes wide and exclaimed, "Ah~~ right~~ Mom also said~~ to write the date~~"

Uncle Mu couldn't help but sigh, "Chenchen, you're amazing, so young and already have your own stamped artwork. You all draw so well, maybe I should take art lessons too?"

Chenchen shook his head, "No need to learn~~ just copy what’s there~~"

Uncle Mu was speechless. He decided not to learn!

That’s so demoralizing!

"Should I take it home for you, or bring it back after class?" Fu Yuanhang asked him.

Chenchen tilted his head up, admiring his own name, "I want to admire it a little longer~~"

"Just leave it here, and you can take it back after class," Fu Yuanhang suggested.

Fu Yuanhang pulled out an old pencil case, tucked the ink-soaked cloth inside, closed it, and set it in front of Chenchen.

"Open it to stamp when needed, close it when you're done, and don’t move it around, or you’ll get ink everywhere."

"Got it~~"

Fu Yuanhang: "We’re heading out now. Have a good class."

Chenchen tilted his head up and asked, "Where are you going?"

Fu Yuanhang suddenly remembered that Uncle Mu had something to talk to him about.

"Right, what did you want to talk about?"

Uncle Mu slapped his forehead. "Almost forgot! Kang Zi said it’s been a while since we played ball and wants to have a game this evening."

Fu Yuanhang nodded, "Sure, we'll pick up Chenchen and go together then."

Fu Yuanhang turned to Chenchen. "Want to come along?"

Chenchen nodded, "Yeah~~"

Dongdong raised his hand. "What about me? Can I come too?"

"Of course," Uncle Mu nodded, "We'll all go together, I'll go to the factory and tell your mom."

Dongdong beamed. "Okay!"

...

When Fu Yuanhang came to pick up Chenchen and Dongdong for the evening ball game.

Su Taotao had just returned from the factory.

"I’ll cook dinner at home tonight, so we’ll eat there."

Fu Yuanhang: "I’ll grab some groceries on the way then."

Su Taotao nodded. "Okay, it’s been a while since we had poultry. If you see any chicken, duck, or goose, grab some."

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

"By the way, Sister-in-law Su," Fu Yuanhang added, "I want to buy an ink pad for Chenchen. The stamp with red ink smudges a bit."

"Isn't there one at home? I remember Fu Zhengtu has one," Su Taotao said.

Fu Yuanhang replied, "I couldn't find it, only found the red ink. Let's just buy a new one; we can share."

Su Taotao: "Sure, go check if they have any at the local store. If not, you can buy one in town tomorrow during Mr. Tang's art lessons."

Fu Yuanhang: "Okay."

...

Uncle Mu wasn't there to see Auntie Zhong; she caught him at Su Taotao's office door.

"Director Zhong, what's with dragging me here?"

Auntie Zhong looked at her son, thinking he wasn't dependable, but she had no one else to turn to, so she made do.

"Sneak over to the security team and see what your brother is doing."

Uncle Mu stared at Auntie Zhong in shock: "Director Zhong, are you sending me to spy on my brother? What has he done wrong?"

Auntie Zhong said, "If I knew, would I need you to watch him?"

Auntie Zhong gritted her teeth, pulled out a dollar from her little purse, and handed it to Uncle Mu:

"Just do it, no questions asked. Tell me exactly what you see."

Uncle Mu was so shocked he forgot to blink, and it took him a moment to close his mouth.

The usually tight-fisted Auntie Zhong forked over a dollar just like that; Comrade Jiji must've really messed up.

Uncle Mu shook his head and refused, looking righteous: "I won't do it. We brothers stick together; I can't betray him!"

Auntie Zhong, knowing her son all too well, saw right through his act and couldn't help but hit him.

Both she and Old Mo are honest and straightforward, how did they end up with such a sly youngest son?

She gritted her teeth, painfully pulled out another dollar:

"Take it or leave it, that's all you're getting! Would I ever do anything to hurt your brother?

If it weren't for your brother's future...

Forget it, if you won't do it, then don't."

"I'll do it, I'll do it... Hey, Auntie Zhong, slow down, let's talk this through." Uncle Mu quickly pocketed the money, afraid that Auntie Zhong would change her mind in another second.

"My brother and I are close, what's the harm in checking out his work environment at the security team, right?

But Auntie Zhong, you gotta give me something to focus on, right? Do I need to report every little thing, like eating, drinking, or using the bathroom?"

Auntie Zhong sighed: "Mainly, see if there are any women in the security team. If there are, see which one your brother is close to... I mean, who he gets along with."

Auntie Zhong had been nagging at home about Mo Jiazhe being of marriageable age, and Uncle Mu instantly understood:

"I got it, Auntie Zhong, I'll keep a close eye. Even if a female mosquito buzzes near my brother, I'll report it."

"What male or female mosquitoes? Who cares about watching mosquitoes?" Auntie Zhong glared at her son, annoyed. "Starting today, you follow your brother everywhere he goes. I’m sure something will come up."

"Ah?" Uncle Mu was stunned. "Just for today? Every day?"

He knew Auntie Zhong’s money wasn’t easy to come by!

"What are you thinking? One day, just one afternoon, and you expect to earn two bucks from me? Why don’t you just rob me blind? Do it or not—give the money back if you won’t." Her heart was still fuming, and she was determined to get her money's worth.

Uncle Mu gritted his teeth and said, "I can do it, but it can’t mess with my part-time studies. My Aunt Taozi is generous, unlike some people. I can earn this much in just a few days!"

"Fine, you’re so capable. Now hurry up and get out of my sight."

"Alright, thanks a lot, Auntie Zhong. Take care, Auntie Zhong. See you later, Auntie Zhong."

With that, Uncle Mu, clutching his ‘fortune,’ bolted out of the office.

Auntie Zhong watched her son’s ridiculous retreat, muttering with a mix of annoyance and amusement, "You little brat..."

...

Uncle Mu, the brat, left Auntie Zhong’s office and immediately met up with his buddy.

Fu Yuanhang saw Uncle Mu’s smug look and couldn’t help but say, "Did you strike gold or something? You look thrilled."

Uncle Mu smugly pulled out his ‘fortune’—two whole dollars—and flicked it with his finger.

"Ah Hang, my Aunt Taozi is generous. You have no idea how tough it is to squeeze money out of Auntie Zhong. Two whole bucks. Impressive, huh?"

"Yeah, real impressive," Fu Yuanhang replied sarcastically. "Don’t forget, you just got an advance from Auntie Zhong not long ago. Auntie Zhong isn’t stingy; you’re just terrible with money."

Uncle Mu jumped up and grabbed Fu Yuanhang’s neck. "One thing at a time! You don’t even care about your brother. Aren’t you curious how I got money out of Auntie Zhong this time?"

"Besides labor payment, what else could it be?"

"Student Fu Yuanhang is really smart. It really is labor payment, so now you have to accompany me to work."

"No way," Fu Yuanhang shook his head. "I have class with the teacher tomorrow, and I need to practice some basics tonight. If I go with you, I’ll miss evening basketball, and Chenchen will be disappointed."

"Come on, bro, I need your help. It’ll be quick, I promise."

...