Chapter 12

Chapter 12

During the show,

The guests shared a simple farm-style breakfast together.

As Bao Yiming walked out holding a piece of red-fleshed sweet potato, he noticed a small white box lying on the courtyard lawn—no one knew where it had come from.

"Papa! Hurry over!" Bao Yiming waved his arm excitedly. "Look what I found!"

He quickly devoured the honey-like sweet potato in just a few bites.

Hearing the commotion, everyone came crowding around to check out the box.

Zhu Wei wondered aloud, "Did the crew sneak in and leave this here while we were sleeping last night?"

She bent down to pick it up.

Suddenly, Bao Yiming stretched out his arm to stop her, looking worried. "Miss Zhu, what if it’s something creepy inside?"

Star: "A snake?"

Rong Rong: "A gross toad?"

Xiao Qi: "Dad's phone!"

Dead silence fell as everyone turned to stare at the kid.

Xiao Qi stuck out his tongue and buried his face in his dad's chest.

All eyes glared at Zhou Xu, who let out an awkward laugh. "Phones always bring calls you don’t want to answer, so they’re scary. You know how it is, right?"

The three children still looked completely confused.

Wen Cishu leaned over his son to grab the box, offering an analogy: "It’s like when you’re playing during vacation and suddenly your teacher calls."

The three little ones finally understood, turning to Zhou Xu with an exaggerated "Ooooh~~~~" in unison.

Zhou Xu pretended to be fake-mad, pointing at them. "Why are you looking at me? Read the task card already! Don’t end up not finishing the task and missing our ride home."

"Honey, great analogy—but maybe skip it next time. It’s kinda terrifying."

"Wow, these three are so adorable! Xiao Qi is super cute too—*aunties wanna smooch you all~*"

"Little Rong Rong actually kept up with her two brothers—so impressive!"

Wen Cishu lifted the lid of the box, revealing an envelope labeled *Farm Chores Challenge*, along with several cute hand-drawn cards.

"Dear little ones, welcome to the Farm Workday task segment. Since you all ate so much of the farm’s food yesterday, before leaving today, you must work hard to pay the farm back—or you might end up staying here to work forever."

The four children looked at each other.

Star: "Stay on the farm?"

Rong Rong: "Work forever?"

Xiao Qi: "Huh?"

Bao Yiming: "That’d be so cool!"

"Huh? What are you getting so worked up about?!"

"You actually want to stay on the farm forever? Isn’t your own home fun enough?"

"Maybe it’s because there aren’t this many kids to play with at home."

"Ming Zai said yesterday that his dad keeps hiring tutors at home. Compared to that, the farm’s way more fun~"

Wen Cishu read out the remaining tasks on the card.

"We’ve prepared several baskets for the kids to collect the ripe potatoes and carrots from the fields. Meanwhile, the parents will play the role of farm owners—preparing a big lunch for the kids while supervising, weighing, and recording the harvested crops to ensure nothing is missed or wasted. Remember, parents are not allowed to dig up the potatoes or carrots themselves."

As the group’s leader, Zhu Wei immediately suggested, "Then how about Zhou Xu and I take care of the cooking? Teacher Chu and Yiming’s dad can oversee the inspection work?"

No one had any objections.

Xingxing asked, "Should we divide into groups too?"

Bao Yiming thought for a moment. "No, we should stick together. Xiaoqi and Rongrong are too little. Let’s dig up potatoes first, then get the carrots."

Zhou Xu laughed and corrected him, "Yi Ming, carrots need to be dug up too."

"Really?" Bao Yiming was surprised and turned to the person beside him. "Dad, is that true?"

Wen Cishu explained, "It’s in fairy tales. The little rabbit pulls carrots out of the ground."

Bao Yiming muttered, "Pretty sure Dad’s never seen carrots in the ground either."

Wen Cishu: ...

"Ming Zai: Please call me the expert at calling people out."

"I think Wen Cishu hasn’t seen them (actually, most city people haven’t—it’s not just him~)."

"Same here… But I knew they grew in the ground, I just didn’t know what the above-ground part looked like."

Once the task was clear, Bao Yiming took charge of the small plastic tools.

Then the four kids linked hands, lined up from tallest to shortest, and headed out.

Their bouncing silhouettes on the ridge looked full of childlike joy.

Wen Cishu and Chu Han carried the baskets and followed them out.

-

The potato patch wasn’t big, with six neat rows.

Aside from the dug-up patches from yesterday at one end, the other rows were covered in lush green stems and leaves.

Chu Han, worried the kids wouldn’t know how to dig, gave some verbal guidance.

"Rong Rong, you dug yesterday. Can you show the boys how it’s done?"

"Mm." Rong Rong gently pulled back the leaves, then used a small plastic shovel to loosen the soil, exposing a bunch of potatoes.

"So easy!" Bao Yiming immediately moved to another row. "I’ll start here."

Xingxing grabbed a blue kid’s shovel and went to the next row.

Noticing Xiaoqi starting to wander off, Wen Cishu quickly said, "Yi Ming, stay with Xiaoqi. You dig, and have him gather them."

Xiao Qi scampered over happily at his uncle's instructions and stood beside his brother, tilting up his little head. "Brother, hurry up and dig~"

Bo Yiming squatted down. "Alright, brother will start right away! Big potatoes, here I come!"

Wen Cishu glanced at Rong Rong’s tiny figure already digging away with her shovel and said, "Why don’t you help Rong Rong?"

Xing Xing had just crouched down but stood back up when he noticed Rong Rong looking up.

It seemed like the little sister was all alone.

He bunny-hopped over the potato row and went to Rong Rong’s side. "I’ll dig."

"Mm~" Rong Rong nodded, pushing aside some leaves for him. "Dig here."

The two adults kept a close eye — not worried about missing potatoes, but that the shovels might hurt their little hands.

Soon enough, Xiao Qi exclaimed, "This potato’s huge!"

He held it high above his head to show everyone.

Just then, Zhou Xu walked over. "Come on, give that potato to Daddy. Daddy’s cooking with it."

Xiao Qi immediately clutched it to his chest, squatting closer to his brother as if guarding treasure. "No, Daddy! This big potato is amazing!"

Bo Yiming, holding two small shovels like a bunny digging, was furiously working the dirt around his feet. He nodded. "Yeah, big potatoes are rare. Uncle can take the small ones."

Zhou Xu had no choice but to bend down and rummage through the basket.

After he left, Wen Cishu pushed the basket closer to the two kids so the little ones wouldn’t keep running back and forth.

Seeing this, Xiao Qi, who was crouched in a little ball, giggled happily. "Uncle is so nice~"

Wen Cishu smiled and ruffled his hair. "Keep going, Xiao Qi."

At that moment, Bo Yiming looked up. "Daddy, I need encouragement too."

Wen Cishu also ruffled his hair. "You got this, Baby Mingming!"

"Hehe~" Bo Yiming was growing to like being called that by Daddy.

"Ming Zai asking for Daddy’s attention directly? That’s my boy!"

"Tsk, what’s with the mushy father-son stuff over digging potatoes?"

On the other side, Chu Han, just like Wen Cishu, stayed close to the two little ones, ready to help at any moment.

Rong Rong was digging like crazy, but Xing Xing suggested she rest. "Rong Rong, how about you gather small potatoes like Xiao Qi for a while?"

"No, I want to keep digging," Rong Rong softly replied. "Brother, can we put them in the basket later?"

Her voice was always gentle, and Xing Xing didn't hesitate to agree. "Mm!"

The children were going at it full steam, not showing any tiredness or reluctance.

Wen Cishu looked at the holes they’d dug. He hadn’t realized his little rascal could have such patience and thoughtfully care for his younger siblings.

Bringing him along on this show really paid off.

"Yiming, Daddy’s going to grab some water. Don’t rush, take your time digging," Wen Cishu said to Chu Han, asking her to watch them for a bit before heading to the kitchen.

Bao Yiming was happily digging when his watch screen lit up. "Hmm?"

Xiao Qi leaned in curiously. "What’s that, bro?"

"It’s Grandpa!" Bao Yiming curled his finger and tapped the screen with the one clean spot on his hand. *[Grandpa, hello!]*

Xiao Qi scrunched his brows, puzzled. What was his brother saying? Why couldn’t he understand?

"French?"

"Whoa! Almost forgot Mingzai is half-Chinese, half-French!"

"Can’t learn English but speaks French, huh? Alright, alright—you’re mixed and multilingual, so fancy."

-

Back in the RV.

Bao Tingyuan, who had been reviewing documents with his head down, immediately lifted his gaze upon hearing the address, looking at his youngest son on the screen.

Uncle Xu, who was pouring tea, froze mid-pour.

Bao Yiming’s grandfather—Bao Tingyuan’s father—had cut ties with the Bao family patriarch years ago to pursue his ideals, walking away from the family fortune.

Had Bao Tingyuan not returned to China later, the family wealth would’ve gone to other branches by now.

The elder Bao patriarch couldn’t accept his only son’s choice and, at the moment of their rift, forced him to drop the "Bao" name. Thus, he later changed his name to Li Yun.

Li Yun had worked for the government, holding a high-ranking post at the French consulate over two decades ago before working at consulates across Europe.

Only in recent years, as he aged, did his visits back home become more frequent.

Uncle Xu had mixed feelings toward Li Yun, the former young master—he respected the choice but never quite got it.

He resumed pouring tea, observing the current young master’s reaction as he handed it over.

Bao Tingyuan was hard to read—especially about matters between father and son, a subject he kept locked down.

He simply watched silently as his son conversed with his grandfather on screen.

On screen.

-

Li Yun: "Hey buddy, you home?"

Bao Yiming, staring at his muddy hands, didn’t know how to say he was digging potatoes. "Playing outside, Grandpa!"

But his tone quickly brightened. "Little Daddy’s here with me!"

Li Yun: "Is your little Daddy feeling better lately?"

Bao Yiming nodded. "A little better than before. Uncle Doctor checked him. Grandpa, do you miss me?"

Li Yun chuckled. "Yes. Also, Grandpa’s birthday is in a few days. I want you and little Daddy to come for dinner—and your big Daddy too, if you can help Grandpa ask him."

Bao Yiming hummed for a few seconds. *[Okay, I’ll try.]*

The little one quickly grinned. "Then happy early birthday, Grandpa! Did I win the first wish?"

Li Yun's voice brightened noticeably: "Of course you're the first."

Bao Yiming still needed to hurry with the potato digging, so he quickly said goodbye to his grandfather and hung up the phone.

Some viewers in the show's live chat provided brief translations, helping everyone understand what the grandfather and grandson were saying.

"Ming Zai actually took the initiative to send blessings? That kind of reaction and emotional intelligence—I'm impressed, sis."

"Why are the grandfather and grandson speaking French? That's so weird."

"Is the grandfather abroad?"

"I'm getting more and more curious—what kind of family is this?"

"It's been a whole night, and no one has uncovered Ming Zai and his wife's backgrounds yet?"

"LMAO, we still don’t even know Ming Zai’s surname, okay?"

"That means we don’t know the wife’s real name either."

"You sleuths in the audience, keep digging! We’re counting on you!"

Wen Cishu came back with water and passed it out to the kids and Chu Han. "Everyone, take a break and drink some water. Take your time—we're almost done."

Bao Yiming didn't mention his grandfather's call, planning to talk about it when they got home.

He chugged some water and sighed, "Little Dad, good thing you don’t have to dig potatoes."

Wen Cishu wiped his sweat with concern, "Tired, huh?"

"No." Bao Yiming shook his head. "If it were you digging, Big Dad would definitely rush in and carry you away."

Wen Cishu's hand froze mid-wipe—?

"OMG, where's this part? I need to see this, hehe."

"Program team, instead of giving the audience what they want to see, you make four kids do farm work for you? That's just cruel."

"Program team: ...No clue, nobody warned us in advance!"

"*Perfect*, today's episode just missed out on a viral moment."