Chapter 69 Wang Wang, the New Little Employee

Chapter 69: Wang Wang, the Littlest New Employee

The little one was growing more sociable and lively. Every day, beyond his basic needs, his desire for affection manifested in two ways: either clinging to his dad’s embrace all day, unwilling to come down, or playing so much after his papa returned from work that he didn’t want to sleep.

One provided steady, secure love, while the other offered joyful, radiant love. He giggled all day long.

Of course, the playful papa loved to tease him even more. However, the little guy was beginning to understand what "teasing" meant. Even if he got upset from being teased, he no longer stayed mad or sulked for long, slowly becoming as playful as his papa.

The house suddenly grew noisier as Shi Zai demonstrated his new interactions with Wang Wang for his two younger brothers:

"Look—Wang Wang, Papa’s taking the food from your mouth..."

"...Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Wang Wang, sitting on Uncle Qin Xihan’s lap, was being fed by his papa. Just after swallowing a big mouthful, his papa reached out and pretended to grab the food from his mouth, declaring it gone. Wang Wang licked his lips—the food was really gone! How annoying!

The little one went "Hmph!" again and reached out to grab his papa. He was already familiar with this game: if Papa grabbed him, he’d pretend to grab the candy from Papa’s mouth. But this time, his papa dodged. Wang Wang looked at his empty hands—he’d gotten nothing! Not fair! He reached out again, but his papa dodged once more and laughed at him along with Uncle Yang Yun... Wang Wang slammed his little hands down on his legs. His pout turned into a red-eyed, teary face. *Plop.* A tear fell.

"Hahaha, Papa's sorry, here, you can grab it, grab it—"

"Uh! Pa-pa!... Pa-pa!..."

"Don’t cry, don’t cry. Papa will let you grab again. Wow—it all went into Wang Wang’s tummy now..."

Only after letting the little one make a grab three times did Shi Zai finally calm Wang Wang down. The little guy had been so worked up he was red in the face, that Qin Xihan almost couldn’t hold him. It felt like Wang Wang was squirming so much he might just flop right on the floor and have a tantrum.

Of course, it wasn’t the first time he’d thrown a tantrum like a fish flopping on a dock. *Hahaha!*

Hearing footsteps behind him, Shi Zai scratched his nose and quickly resumed feeding Wang Wang properly:

"Wang Wang, open wide, ah—Papa made you some chicken puree today. Does it smell good?"

"..."

Shu Yangkuo shook his head with a smile. His wife treated their son like her own personal toy. From early on, whenever Wang Wang showed a new behavior, Shi Zai had to show it off to everyone. It was one thing to show off new skills, but even winding the baby up until he was sweating with frustration was all part of the show for him. What could he do?

Seeing his eldest brother sitting nearby, Yang Yun stopped joining his younger brother in bothering Wang Wang during mealtime and suddenly remembered:

"Big brother, I was just about to tell you—the antique maze you designed for us is super popular!"

"It’s Xiao Yun’s credit. Work well with Xihan."

"Hehe, big brother, stop always saying 'Xihan,' 'Xihan'—it sounds like 'adore.' Call him something else."

Hearing this, Qin Xihan blushed slightly:

"Don’t be disrespectful to big brother."

"What’s the big deal? ...Oh, I get it. Big brother can call him whatever he wants."

Shu Yangkuo chuckled softly, pulling Yang Yun playfully close. As Wang Wang was growing up, Yang Yun was also maturing rapidly.

At least he wasn’t like last month, when he said, 'Han Ge, now it’s not just my younger brother who likes and loves you—big brother adores you too!'... Mortifying. If not 'Xihan,' what should he call him? 'Little Qin' was out—it sounded too stuffy, like he was lording it over him. 'Qin Xihan' was too distant. And as for the nickname 'Han Bao,' which his wife used—unless he was crazy.

So it was 'Xiao Han.' But Yang Yun protested again:

"You’re making him sound simple!"

"...It goes with your 'Xiao Yun' just fine."

"Oh—hehe, okay! Xiao Yun, Xiao Han! Yun Bao, Han Bao! Hahaha..."

Shu Yangkuo stood up and left. That silly boy—he hadn't even succeeded in his pursuit yet, and as soon as he matured a little, he regressed. What a life—fresh from being his little brother's "big treasure," now off to be the "silly son" for Qin Xihan. If he kept this up, he’d really end up with another older brother.

But let him be. As the saying goes, you can't worry about your kids forever... Ahem. *He* was only twenty-nine.

But time flies. In a few months, his wife would turn twenty-two, and they’d be seven years apart. In three more months, he’d be thirty. Sigh...

Just take it day by day—New Year's would be here before he knew it.

At a round table seating twenty, Shi Zai plunked Wang Wang right on the lazy Susan:

"Baby, give everyone a smile, one by one. Go, Pikachu—"

With that, Shi Zai gave the turntable a spin, sending the nearly seven-month-old, sitting cross-legged, sliding away.

Wang Wang was a bit scared. He waved his little fists in the air before he quickly grabbed his pants legs and sat still. His papa had secretly played this with him before—he had to be a big boy! Brave! So he only pouted a little without crying. Suddenly, he saw his uncle teasing him with a small bird toy. Wang Wang let out a "Ha!" and grabbed the toy, then threw it away. Seeing his uncle stunned, he giggled. Next was his second uncle, who gently reached out to steady him. Wang Wang squinted his eyes, gave a "hehe," and blew a spit bubble at his uncle’s hand. Then came Xiang Xiang, who wanted to hold him, but no way! Xiang Xiang had accidentally dropped him before—just thinking about it made his bottom hurt. Wang Wang leaned back to avoid him, lost his balance, and—thud! Wah!

Everyone in the room sprang into action. After taking Wang Wang from Yan Wei’s arms, Shi Zai immediately spotted Shu Yangkuo, who had just stepped out to get a bib for Wang Wang. He quickly lowered his head to soothe the little one: "Wang Wang, don’t fuss with Uncle Yan Wei anymore. See? You ended up in the cake."

Hearing this, Yan Wei gave a dry snort and skillfully wiped the cream off the back of Wang Wang’s head.

Xiang Xiang climbed onto his father’s lap: "Did I make my little brother fall?" Zheng Yuan tapped his cheek: "Your godfather was just being a troublemaker. Your godfather will give him a talking-to later." Xiang Xiang paused, then looked up and laughed, though he whispered to his father, "Later, persuade Godfather not to scold him too hard. I like Godfather." Zheng Yuan smiled, patted his son’s head, and, caught his wife's eye and promptly started serving their son.

As soon as Shu Yangkuo entered, he saw his son lying on several cream cakes, all four limbs in the air. Shu Yangkuo's eye twitched—this wasn't the first time his wife had joked about "eating Wang Wang"... Well, it was the New Year. He walked over quickly, kissed each of their foreheads, and guided them to sit down. Back in his arms, Wang Wang still looked a little stunned. He reached up to touch his head—the sensation of falling into the cake was still fresh. After a moment, he giggled again. Shu Yangkuo fed him a spoonful of mashed potatoes. The little one pointed at the remaining cake, going "Mm, mm." Shu Yangkuo soothed him: "Papa wasn’t going to eat Wang Wang. Be good." The little one blinked and pointed at the cake again, going "Mm, mm." Shu Yangkuo paused, turned the lazy Susan, and pretended to scoop some cream: "Eat up. Is it sweet?" Wang Wang nodded vigorously.

Shi Zai chuckled beside him:

"Bro, Wang Wang was being mischievous and insisted on looking at the cake. I was holding him to see it when he accidentally fell."

"Wife, no need to explain. I’ve said it before—if Wang Wang takes after you more, I’m happy."

"Hahaha, actually, I made him sit on the lazy Susan and spun him until he fell!"

"..."

Well, it was the New Year.

This phrase applied not just during the holidays but every day in Shi Zai’s home.

He shook his head and leaned close to Shu Yangkuo, planting a big kiss. That was how they were—one meticulously caring, the other casually playing along. But Shi Zai wasn’t without boundaries. This was their flesh and blood, carried by him for two months and by the man for over seven. He just wanted Wang Wang to grow up more optimistic. Both he and Shu Yangkuo were inherently sensitive, but Shi Zai’s sensitivity vanished quickly amid his cheerful nature, while Shu Yangkuo’s sensitivity was buried deep and processed inwardly. It was only in recent years that the man had begun to express it. Shi Zai wanted Wang Wang to have both Shu Yangkuo’s sensitive discernment and composure, as well as his own ability to regulate emotions.

See—thanks to his relentless efforts, the little one no longer stayed angry for long and even teased back playfully.

By March, Wang Wang was eight months old. Around the New Year, he had started attempting to crawl, and now he was scooting around swiftly. His little legs seemed to have a mind of their own, like a vacuum cleaner—zipping here, zipping there. If you blinked, the little one who was just at your feet would vanish. A big house had its advantages—plenty of space to crawl without bumping into things. But it also had downsides—when the little one crawled off somewhere, it took a while to find him, and you worried he might get stuck.

One day, Shu Yangkuo was busy at the shop. After the New Year, they had just made millions, and several antique shop owners approached them to co-host an exhibition. This time, they would take the lead, inviting reporters to cover it, spending money to get on TV, and building even more momentum.

While discussing business, a "swish, swish" sound came from the glass door, accompanied by occasional squeaks, like a wet cloth or half-dry mop dragging across the floor tiles. Shu Yangkuo frowned slightly. The other three noticed too and looked over. Shu Yangkuo called out, "Xiao Song, tell them not to mop now." Xiao Song was puzzled: "No one’s mopping. I’ll check."

Before Xiao Song could reach the door, the "mopper" appeared—it was Wang Wang.

The little one had two half-dry towels tied to his legs and was "mopping" enthusiastically. When he saw Shu Yangkuo, he looked up and giggled. As Shu Yangkuo bent to pick him up, Wang Wang let out an "Ah! Haha!" and scurried away. He wasn’t done playing yet—no hugs!

Turning around, Shu Yangkuo saw Shi Zai rushing over to find Wang Wang. He said, "Honey..." but didn't know how to continue. He smiled helplessly, hugged the person in his arms, and kissed his big, eager eyes that seemed to be looking for praise:

"My wife is doing great, saving me the cleaning fees."

"Hahahaha, Wang Wang is older now, he should contribute too. Hey, I have another idea, want to hear it?!"

Shu Yangkuo’s eyelids twitched, and he nodded.

Ten minutes later, Shu Yangkuo returned to the reception area, all smiles, with his wife and son, and introduced the new staff member for the exhibition to the three people.

Spring fills the land, the spring sun shines over the fields.

Antiques blossom with new scenes, spring water flows through generations.

At the exhibition, a vibrant atmosphere rushed forward, mingled with the lingering moisture of rain. The wind passing through carried the fresh fragrance of early begonias outside, along with the colorful glow of flowers adorning vases and cups. At a glance, it was both a vision of the present and a swirl of millennia-old clouds and mist.

The exhibition was divided into three parts: spring on antiques, personified song and dance performances of antiques, and the evolution of dragon patterns on porcelain.

The first part displayed various antique collections related to spring, available for on-site transactions. The second part followed the voice-over approach for cultural relics from the past, making antique artworks more entertaining. It featured ten performances with ancient charm, spanning the pre-Qin period, Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Wei-Jin Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty, each unfolding from the background of a specific antique to showcase the styles of artifacts from different eras.

The third part was the "Dragon Pattern Porcelain Special Topic," displaying twenty pieces of porcelain with different dragon patterns from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, highlighting the distinctions in dragon patterns across dynasties. This section was for mutual exchange and learning, with a relaxed and lively atmosphere.

On the cast list at the entrance, aside from the nearly hundred performers for the song and dance, there was a curious little actor—Shi Yiwang. Since the performers had rehearsal photos to attract more visitors, many noticed the baby dressed in a little dragon costume at first glance.

An adorable little dragon baby over eight months old.

As the exhibition began, in the Dragon Pattern Porcelain section, a nearly twenty-meter-long glass case displayed each piece of porcelain with labels and descriptions of the stylistic features of the patterns from different dynasties, such as the "Tang dragon" standing tall, soaring, and robust, and the "Yuan dragon" elegant and handsome. At the top, there were cartoon dragon images matching the different dragon patterns to help distinguish the characteristics of dragons from various dynasties. Behind the glass case was a one-meter-wide passage lined with red velvet. People weren’t sure what it was for, but they guessed it was related to the adorable little dragon baby and looked forward to it eagerly.

Soon, the adorable little dragon baby was carried out by a man nearly two meters tall. His round, big eyes often curved into smiles, his chubby little face fair and radiant, and his small arms and legs were very strong, waving excitedly, showing his excitement and joy. He wore a soft, yellow, full-body dragon costume, with a little tail swaying as he moved, and two long little dragon horns drooping over his small shoulders... This little bundle sat in the tall man’s arms, giggling nonstop.

With so many people watching, the little one didn’t cry or fuss, clearly a crowd-pleaser, definitely not taking after the tall man holding him—that must be the other one. Looking toward the end of the twenty-meter display case, sure enough, a lively, cheerful young man, like a big boy, was playing with the baby with a red wand resembling a cat teaser. After the little one got down from Papa’s arms, he quickly started crawling.

Wang Wang crawled and crawled, suddenly remembering something. He looked back and giggled—Papa was still there, watching him with a smile. He pounded the mat with a thud, inviting Papa to join the fun. Although Papa was more careful and gentle than Daddy, he didn’t often play with him like this—only games like stacking blocks, not rolling around together. Maybe because he was usually too busy and tired taking care of him. Today, Papa didn’t have much to do, so why was he still shaking his head?... Wang Wang pouted, but then saw Papa lower his head and smile, opening his arms—meaning he wanted to carry him down... Ah, should he let Papa carry him or keep playing?... Wang Wang thought for a moment, then let out a "Ha!" toward Papa and continued crawling.

Many people were laughing and talking, clapping for him.

What’s this all about? He’s busy, he’s doing important work, he’s trying hard to crawl to Daddy, why is everyone grinning and cheering him on? Just look at your bottles and jars, this isn’t a baby crawling contest. Wang Wang sat up again, faced with so many beaming faces, he couldn’t take them all in, and suddenly felt a bit annoyed. He thumped the glass case hard, and many people gasped in unison. Wang Wang clung to the glass case, leaned back, and laughed, "Giggle giggle haha"—so he could control other people’s expressions, how fun!

Tired from laughing, Wang Wang rubbed his little nose and sighed softly. The people below laughed again, but he was too tired to laugh along. He lifted one corner of his mouth and let out a "Heh," figuring he should smile, but the people below laughed even louder.

Wang Wang lay back down and crawled for a while. Daddy’s wand had a little red pom-pom, and he wanted to play with it too. He got on his knees and reached for it, but couldn’t reach—oh, it was still far away. He flopped down, pouted, and wanted to cry, but Daddy laughed and made an "Awoo!" sound at him. Oh, be brave. Wang Wang crawled properly again, lowered his little head, and imitated Daddy with an "Awoo!" of his own. Surprisingly, many people below imitated him, and suddenly there were lots of "Awoo!" sounds—a bit noisy. Wang Wang sat up with his back to everyone. Huh, what was tied to the red ribbon beside him? It looked like the little dragon on his clothes. He reached out his little hand, tugged at it, but couldn’t pull it off. He tugged harder, and with too much force, the little dragon toy flew backward with a "smack!" Many people exclaimed, and Wang Wang giggled twice.

He didn’t feel like crawling for now—he wanted to pull off all the little dragons tied to the ribbon!

Swish swish swish—when Wang Wang looked back, giggle, many people were holding the little dragon toys he’d thrown. Some even asked him for more. Wang Wang looked around, showed his empty hands—none left, he’d pulled them all off. How come he didn’t have any left? Wah—

A pretty young woman walked over to comfort him and handed him the little dragon toy she was holding. Wang Wang pouted, wiped the tears from his face with his little hand, and stopped crying. He took the young woman’s little dragon toy, hugged her hand, and gave it a loud "mwah," giggling. The young woman then offered her cheek, and Wang Wang reached out to touch it, then gave another "mwah." The young woman smelled so good, he wanted to bite her again—why did she cover her face and leave? Did he hurt her with his kiss? He didn't do it on purpose! He pouted and couldn’t help crying "Wah" again.

People were still laughing at him—why were they laughing? He felt so wronged, he really didn’t do it on purpose.

Luckily, the pretty young woman came back and offered him the same cheek. Wang Wang wiped his tears, looked—the young woman’s cheek wasn’t red from his kiss. He held her face and turned it to the other side—hmm, better try the other side. Awoo—gave it a big kiss, giggle.

Wang Wang was satisfied. Everyone was laughing, and he sat there giggling back at them for a while, his little chest rising and falling with laughter, his short legs kicking wildly, making the glass case thump loudly—Huh, there was a spoon inside with a blue-eyed little dragon drawn on it, similar to the one on his dragon outfit. He liked it and thumped even harder, his eyes wide. Where’s Papa? He wants to eat.

Giggle, Papa came. Opened the case and handed him the spoon. Wang Wang went "Ah ah"—how was he supposed to eat? There was no food on the spoon. Luckily, Papa scooped a big piece of cake out of the air for him and told him to "eat slowly." Wang Wang nodded vigorously, nibbling slowly with "ah-woo" sounds. He lifted his eyelids and saw many people looking at him strangely, as if they wanted his spoon? He quickly hid it behind his back—Huh, seemed like they didn’t want the spoon, they wanted to eat... Wang Wang imitated Papa, scooped a big piece of delicious cake, reached out over the glass case, "Ah," "Ah," giggle, he was feeding everyone.

So fun, everyone opened their mouths and took a bite. Wang Wang smiled contentedly.

He was full and had fed everyone too. Clatter—Wang Wang threw the spoon on the floor and kept crawling. Suddenly, a series of startled cries came from behind... What happened? Wang Wang stopped abruptly and looked back. Someone had picked up the spoon—ah, it was in two pieces! What kind of lousy spoon was this, so fragile? If it broke, it broke, Papa and Daddy never got angry when he broke things. Wang Wang lowered his head and giggled twice, then kept crawling. Sure enough, Daddy walked over, picked up the broken spoon, put it in his pocket, and gave him a thumbs-up.

Hmph, no idea what all the fuss was about.

Kept crawling forward, huh—a red rope hung down. What’s this? Wang Wang sat up and tugged hard, his little butt lifting off the ground before the rope moved. First came a tearing sound, and many beaded curtains appeared over the glass case, blocking him from everyone. Then came a rustling sound—wow, lots of red things fell from the sky! Wang Wang excitedly clapped his hands—red envelopes! So many red envelopes!

Why didn’t he have any? Why were they blocking him? Just as he frowned, the beaded curtains went back up. The pretty young woman and a few others handed him the extra red envelopes they’d grabbed. Wang Wang again "giggled," patted his little pocket, and stuffed two red envelopes inside.

Many people were still picking them up from the ground. Wang Wang sat up and looked—Papa’s mark was on them, he recognized it, giggle, Papa had given out the red envelopes.

Then came a loud "crash," and Wang Wang gave a little shiver. Was it an animated film? He sat cross-legged and saw several people moving tables into the wide space opposite him. Soon, a display case filled with dragon dolls was set up. Many people walked over there, glanced at him, then at the dragon dolls on the case, and took out money... Giggle, were they going to buy him?

Wang Wang was startled and quickly looked down—oh, he was still here. He patted his little body, the red envelopes were still there too, giggle, he wanted to buy dragon dolls too. Everyone was going over there, wait for him! Wang Wang scampered on his short legs, swish swish swish—Hey, there was another remote control. The previous remote control didn’t have animated films, what about this one? Would it be fake too? But last time he pressed it, lots of dragon dolls came out. This time, what would pressing it do? Would candy come out? He still hadn’t eaten real candy yet.

After waving his arms and legs excitedly for a while, Wang Wang eagerly pressed all the buttons on the remote control randomly. Only one button he could press. Wang Wang pressed hard, harder—"Hello, little cuties a thousand years later, I am the little dragon king from the Great Tang Dynasty..."

The moment the voice came from the TV opposite, Wang Wang completely forgot about candy. It was Daddy, Daddy’s voice! He grabbed his little pants legs and sat up properly. A little dragon on the screen shook its head and wagged its tail, talking about this bottle, then that jar. There was no Daddy’s face, but Daddy’s voice was so nice, so cute! Wang Wang lowered his little head and giggled, happily patting his legs.

People who had bought dragon dolls walked under the screen, laughing and watching. Oh no, they were blocking him! His Daddy was gone! Wang Wang quickly turned to look—oh oh oh, Daddy was still there, arms open. Wang Wang lifted his face and giggled twice, then scrambled quickly into Daddy’s arms, receiving several "mwahs." He quickly gave Daddy a "mwah" back, otherwise Daddy would cry "Wah."

Wang Wang hugged Daddy’s neck, his little shoulders kissed several more times. Feeling Daddy’s love and happiness, he got even more excited, wriggling excitedly, giggle, he wanted to be a flying little dragon. But suddenly, Papa walked quickly over and hugged him, holding both him and Daddy tightly, kissing them several times. Giggle, Papa was so happy too. Today was a really good day.

He lifted his face—ah, why were Papa’s eyes red? Wang Wang gently grabbed him and gave Papa’s face a "mwah":

"Pa...pa."