Chapter 294 It’s okay if it’s broken~~ my dad will fix it~~

Chapter 294: It's okay if it breaks~~ Daddy can fix it~~

Fu Yuanhang and Mu Mu are not the type of children who easily get addicted to a particular form of entertainment.

But the magic of this radio is pretty powerful.

The two kids sat in front of the radio, listening to news, songs, gymnastics, stories... every single program, just like the other three little ones. They didn’t miss a thing.

They listened until noon, and even when Su Taotao and Xia Zhiqiu came back with lunch, they were still hooked.

"If we don't let the radio rest, it might burn out," Su Taotao couldn't help but try to convince the children.

"Ahhh~~ Can the radio really break~~" The idea of the radio breaking was beyond Chenchen’s understanding.

Su Taotao said, "Of course it can break. You can’t stay awake all day either—you need to rest when it’s time."

Chenchen blinked, "But mommy~~ it sleeps when I sleep at night~~ we unplug it~~"

Su Taotao: "..." No flaws there! I slipped up.

"Electrical appliances aren’t like people—they can’t stay on for so long without a break. Anyway, let the radio rest after lunch, and you should rest too. You can listen again after your nap."

Chenchen pouted, "But mommy~~ the fan stays on all night and doesn’t break~~ I bet the radio won’t break either if it’s on all day~~ it can rest at night~~"

Su Taotao: "..." For the first time, she realized that having a child who’s too smart isn’t always a good thing.

Su Taotao took a deep breath, "Listen, if it breaks, you won’t be able to listen to it anymore, okay?"

Chenchen blinked, his eyes very firm, "But mommy~~ it’s okay if it breaks~~ Daddy can fix it~~"

Su Taotao couldn’t help but laugh, even though she was a little annoyed.

Clearly, none of her arguments were convincing enough for the child.

"But mommy really wants the radio to rest, okay?"

This time, Chenchen didn’t argue with her, "Okay okay~~ let it rest for a little bit~~"

With that, the child happily ran to turn off the radio:

"The radio needs to rest~~ let’s eat quick~~ rest early after eating~~ we can listen again when we wake up early~~"

Even though he’s the youngest, Chenchen is actually the leader of the group.

Fu Yuanhang always indulges him, going along with whatever he says.

Mu Mu follows Fu Yuanhang’s lead.

The other two kids naturally follow Chenchen’s lead.

Even Baibai listens to Chenchen the most—no surprise, since Chenchen treats him like a little brother, sharing everything good he has.

Baibai isn’t dumb—he knows following the little master means good food, so of course he listens to Chenchen.

You could say that if Chenchen were a troublemaker, under his clever leadership, the kids from the base kindergarten would definitely grow up to cause chaos.

Luckily, Chenchen isn’t like that.

Just thinking about it made Su Taotao shudder with lingering fear.

As the kids grow older and more independent, it's getting harder to pull the wool over their eyes, or rather, to reason with them.

-

Back at the base,

When the base leader got Fu Zhengtu's application, he was silent for a long time.

The Pangpang incident had blown up, becoming common knowledge.

Everyone knew Li Dongliang and Li Qiuju, that cruel couple, had abused Pangpang and planned to ditch him.

No matter how Li Dongliang tried to dodge the blame, he was in it up to his neck; that's just how it was.

They were in it together, after all.

Li Dongliang's union days were as good as over.

Even if he didn't get demoted or a pay cut right away, he was now branded with shame, sidelined from any important tasks, and forget about promotions or raises.

Li Dongliang had thought it was a simple matter, figuring he could wash his hands clean by pinning it all on Li Qiuju.

Even now, he's convinced he's got nothing to do with it.

It was all Li Qiuju's doing, plain and simple.

He feels like a total chump, raising Pangpang all these years with no blood ties, only to get screwed over in the end.

Now at work, everyone's giving him the cold shoulder, especially the parents, who throw snide remarks his way, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Some coworkers even set him up, and when the bosses catch wind, they don't call them out but instead chew him out for being sloppy.

Li Dongliang's kicking himself now; if he'd known ditching Pangpang would come back to bite him like this, he'd never have let him go.

He'd drop Pangpang off at school in the morning, have him eat lunch at the cafeteria, and only when he picked him up in the afternoon till he clocked out would Li Qiuju be alone with Pangpang.

If he'd just kept a tighter leash on Li Qiuju, maybe none of this would've gone down.

But now, it's all water under the bridge.

Even if he took Pangpang back now, it wouldn't change a thing.

Li Dongliang's got a real grudge against Li Qiuju; this sham of a marriage, aside from giving him a bit of street cred back home for 'snagging a city-educated youth' (a term referring to urban youths sent to rural areas during the Cultural Revolution), hasn't done squat for him.

Li Dongliang started sizing up his connections; since he was persona non grata here, there was no point sticking around.

He was a bona fide college grad with some pull; while he was still young, finding a new gig was the way to go.

As for Li Qiuju... They were never really a pair, and if push came to shove, he could cut her loose; he didn't have to lug this dead weight around.

If he could vanish where his hometown folks couldn't track him down, he could ditch the hometown leeches and wouldn't need to keep Li Qiuju around.

After all, she was just dead weight with no job.

Li Dongliang was a total self-server; once his mind was made up, he started hitting up his contacts to carve out a new path for himself.

The boss soon called Fu Zhengtu in for a chat.

Fu Zhengtu's attitude toward transferring Li Lifeng was very firm.

He had clearly analyzed the pros and cons and once again vouched for Li Lifeng's character.

The leader asked Fu Zhengtu, "Your insistence on bringing Li Lifeng here—does it stem more from personal feelings or work necessity?

Zhengtu, you know the staffing standards of our base. The projects in your hands are of utmost importance; not a single mistake is acceptable.

We’d rather move slowly and carefully than risk making a wrong move."

Fu Zhengtu said, "Work necessity outweighs personal feelings. Applying for him to work at the base and for him to come to the base to acknowledge his son are not contradictory.

The former is due to his professional competence, which is worth my endorsement, and the latter is an opportunity.

If it weren’t for Pangpang being here, even if I wanted to transfer him over, he might not be willing."

The border winds are harsh, but they also bring a sense of freedom.

Given Li Lifeng’s personality, if it weren’t for Pangpang, he would prefer to stay at the border.

The leader actually understood Fu Zhengtu's character, and asking this was just a formality.

He tapped lightly on Fu Zhengtu’s application and suddenly smiled, "Zhengtu, it’s been years since I’ve seen you write something like this.

You usually explain things in one word, never a phrase, but for Li Lifeng, you actually wrote a several-thousand-word application. It’s obvious he’s someone you’re determined to bring on board."

Fu Zhengtu did not deny the leader’s words and said, "First, have someone thoroughly investigate his background, and if there are no issues, we can proceed further. But please hurry—I can’t afford to waste any time."

The leader nodded, "Understood. You can go back first. I need to hold a meeting to discuss this further."

"Alright," Fu Zhengtu stood up, "I’ll be waiting for your good news."

...