"Before, it would have been unlikely for you to win her over, but now it's different. You're officially the richest man in the village, you have your own greenhouse vegetable business, and you're running a farm stay. Honestly, with your qualifications, the single girls wanting to marry you could line up from the village entrance all the way to the city," Qiangzi said from the side.
"Exactly! You shouldn't underestimate yourself. If I had your current situation, I would have found someone a long time ago. How could I still be single?"
Seeing the two of them trying to talk sense into him, Liu Yifeng smiled, "Don't worry about my affairs, you two. I'm content with Tongtong for now. As for finding a wife, it'll happen when it happens. And like I said before, don't say anything out of line in front of Ms. Xu. She doesn't have any romantic intentions towards me. The reason she takes such good care of Tongtong is because I saved her daughter's life once."
Seeing that they had no further ideas, Lu Fei and Qiangzi felt a bit disappointed but said nothing more. They weren't fools; they would only say such things in front of Liu Yifeng, not in front of Xu Muqing.
In a short while, they arrived at a restaurant that served steak and pizza. It was a buffet-style restaurant, where you could take whatever you wanted after paying. Xu Muqing paid for four adults and two children without asking if they were hungry. Now, they had to eat, otherwise, it would be a waste.
Liu Yifeng hadn't eaten lunch and was indeed a bit hungry. He ordered a pizza and then took a plate to get some snacks to tide him over. Tongtong and Yaoyao ordered a fruit pizza; one pizza was just enough for them. Usually, Xu Muqing wouldn't let Yaoyao eat this kind of food, thinking it was bad for her health. But since Tongtong wanted to eat it, she made an exception for Yaoyao to have some this time. She wasn't very hungry herself, but it would be awkward to just sit there while everyone else ate, so she also ordered a black pepper steak.
Soon, the steaks and pizzas were served. Liu Yifeng first cut his steak into small pieces and gave a few to Tongtong to try before he started eating himself.
"Daddy, do you want some pizza?" Tongtong asked, holding a slice of pizza towards Liu Yifeng. Liu Yifeng didn't like pizza, so he told Tongtong to eat it herself. Tongtong then politely asked Lu Fei, Qiangzi, and Xu Muqing if they wanted any. Seeing that they all declined, she began to eat it herself. Yaoyao was initially eating her own food, but when she saw Tongtong asking everyone, she started to imitate her and ask if anyone wanted hers.
Seeing this, Xu Muqing felt that Yaoyao had become much more sensible by following Tongtong's example. Before, Yaoyao would at most just not throw tantrums as much, but now she even knew how to care about others. It was true that children who played together easily influenced each other. No wonder most parents hoped their children would play with well-behaved and virtuous children.
"These two kids have such a good relationship. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were siblings!" Lu Fei blurted out. This made Xu Muqing a bit embarrassed. She knew Lu Fei meant to say that the two children had a good relationship, but if they were really siblings, then what would that make her and Liu Yifeng?
"What siblings? Don't talk nonsense, boy. These two children are just good friends!" Liu Yifeng, noticing Xu Muqing's awkwardness, immediately admonished Lu Fei. Lu Fei then agreed, scratching his head sheepishly, "Ms. Xu, please don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything else. I just think these two children have a very close relationship, just like you and I did when we were little!"
Xu Muqing waved her hand indifferently, "It's alright. I really like Tongtong, and I feel at ease with Yaoyao playing with him!" She had clearly noticed that Yaoyao's drawing skills had improved very quickly, and when she asked, Yaoyao said Tongtong taught her. If possible, she hoped the two children could attend primary school, middle school, and even high school together in the future.
"Mom, the kindergarten teacher taught us the Three Character Classic today. All the children couldn't remember it, but Brother Tongtong learned it as soon as he heard it. He has such a good memory!" Yaoyao recounted some events from kindergarten.
"Is that so? Tongtong is really amazing. Then, Yaoyao, did you memorize it?" Xu Muqing asked with a smile. Yaoyao shook her head, "No, it's too long, I can't remember it!"
"It's okay if you can't remember. We can practice it together at home, alright?" Xu Muqing knew that not every child had Tongtong's high learning talent. So she didn't expect Yaoyao to be the same, as long as she didn't lose her interest in learning. Diligence could make up for lack of talent.
As they ate steak and pizza and chatted, the atmosphere, which had been a bit awkward earlier, became lively. After they finished eating, it was already half-past five. Xu Muqing and Yaoyao drove back first. Liu Yifeng then drove to the countryside. Lu Fei's village was next to Liu Yifeng's, only about a seven or eight-minute drive away. He first dropped Lu Fei off, then took Qiangzi to his home, and finally went to his own.
As soon as he got out of the car, he locked the calligraphy and paintings given by Old Master Zhao into a cabinet and instructed his father not to throw away the box when opening the cabinet. Liu Chunsheng nodded immediately, "Don't worry, if you say it's useful, I definitely won't throw it away. But what's inside that's so precious?"
"A piece of calligraphy and painting, it's from ancient times, very valuable!" Liu Yifeng explained. Hearing that it was an antique, Liu Chunsheng quickly asked Liu Yifeng to lock it securely and warned him not to tell anyone, otherwise, someone would definitely try to steal the calligraphy and paintings when they were not home. Liu Yifeng was not foolish; he would certainly not tell everyone about this. He only told Qiangzi and Lu Fei because they were brothers, and he trusted them. It turned out they didn't believe him and still thought he was bragging.
"Oh, right, your third aunt came by earlier and asked when you're paying wages," Liu Chunsheng recalled something. Liu Yifeng then remembered that he usually paid wages in the middle of the month. Today was the sixteenth, and he had completely forgotten due to being busy.
"I'll pay them tomorrow. I'll take some cash after I send Tongtong to kindergarten. Dad, how many watermelons are left in the back mountain?" He hadn't managed the watermelons himself recently; his father had been overseeing it. Every day, his father would record how many pounds of watermelons Su Wanru's people took away, and Su Wanru would transfer the money to his card the next day, so he hadn't put much effort into it.
"The weather is starting to get cooler, and watermelons aren't selling as well as before. There should be about a hundred thousand pounds left in the back mountain!" Liu Chunsheng estimated this based on the number of watermelons.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yifeng immediately said, "Then don't plant them in the back mountain anymore. We can plant some in the constant temperature rooms of the vegetable greenhouses."
"You can't grow them outside in this weather; the seedlings won't survive!" Liu Chunsheng nodded.
Coming out of the room, Liu Yifeng saw Tongtong entering the study again. "Tongtong, why are you drawing again? Didn't I tell you to close your Taobao shop?"
Tongtong replied while drawing, "Daddy, this isn't for sale. The teacher taught me a new drawing method today, and I'm practicing!"
"Then don't overwork yourself. Daddy won't bother you." With that, Liu Yifeng went out. Tongtong was so diligent; the only thing he could do as a father was to provide him with a quiet environment to study. He couldn't help with anything else.