During dinner, Zhou Liqun persistently spoke of the benefits brought by the "Genius Brain" program.
He emphasized that it not only brought immense honor but also contributed to one's future, urging Liu Yifeng to seriously consider it.
Listening to the incessant chatter, Su Wanru grew impatient. "Why are you so much of a busybody, talking non-stop? Didn't you hear Mr. Liu say he doesn't want his son to participate?"
Zhou Liqun fell silent with a hint of grievance and then quietly ate his meal.
Liu Yifeng, sitting beside him, smiled and said, "Mr. Zhou, I will carefully consider what you've said. If I change my mind, I will contact you immediately!"
Zhou Liqun's eyes lit up. "Mr. Liu, really? Then you must think it over carefully. After all, this is the first time such a program has been launched in the country and it has national certification.
This indicates that they encourage contestants to participate. Once this type of program becomes commonplace, I imagine the rewards won't be as generous."
What he said was indeed true. In anything, the first people to embark on a venture always reaped the greatest rewards, while those who followed could only pick up the scraps.
"Mm-hmm, I understand." Liu Yifeng said this to avoid disappointing Zhou Liqun too much and also to prevent him from talking for an entire day, which would be too noisy.
After dinner, Su Wanru intended to let Liu Yifeng nap in her office before picking up Tongtong in the afternoon.
However, Liu Yifeng declined. With Zhou Liqun still present, it would be awkward if misunderstandings arose about their relationship.
Zhou Liqun also felt that Su Wanru was showing excessive concern for Liu Yifeng.
However, upon remembering that Liu Yifeng already had a son, he didn't overthink it.
He assumed Liu Yifeng was merely a client of Su Wanru's, which explained her attentiveness.
Given Su Wanru's circumstances, it was unlikely she would be interested in a man with a child!
In the afternoon, Liu Yifeng went to the orchard.
Most of the pomelos had already been harvested, with an estimated fifty to sixty thousand catties remaining. These would all be picked by evening.
Having nothing else to do, he joined in the harvesting.
Zhao Jiazhu immediately said, "Boss, we can handle this work. You just rest on the side!"
Liu Yifeng smiled. "It's fine, I'm just standing around anyway. Don't mind me, you get back to your work."
Hearing this, Zhao Jiazhu said no more and continued weighing the pomelos.
After working in the orchard for two hours, Liu Yifeng then drove to the kindergarten to pick up Tongtong from school.
On the way back, he brought home seven or eight bags of pomelos, which he planned to give to friends and relatives during the holidays.
He arrived at the kindergarten with about seven or eight minutes left until dismissal. He waited in his car with the air conditioning on.
Although his minivan seemed out of place among the luxury cars of other parents picking up their children, other parents were accustomed to it. They knew that Liu Yifeng's son performed exceptionally well in kindergarten.
Especially in painting, his talent was astonishing. They had all seen Tongtong's artwork displayed on the bulletin board.
Therefore, no one had ever suggested boycotting Tongtong from the kindergarten.
On the contrary, they hoped their children would interact more with Tongtong.
Dismissal was at precisely four-thirty.
Just then, Liu Yifeng received a call from Xu Muqing.
"Mr. Liu, could I trouble you with something?" Xu Muqing said sheepishly on the phone.
Liu Yifeng replied, "Ms. Xu, please tell me!"
"A client suddenly came to my company wanting to discuss cooperation. I'm afraid I won't be able to get away for a while, so I was hoping you could pick up Tongtong and also Yaoyao. Bring them directly to my company, where my secretary will look after them. I'll inform the teachers as well."
Liu Yifeng thought it was a minor request and immediately agreed, "Okay, I'm at the kindergarten now, I'll pick her up right away!"
"Thank you so much. I originally wanted my mother to pick her up, but her phone has been unreachable, and my father is at work and unavailable. " Xu Muqing explained why she had to trouble Liu Yifeng.
Liu Yifeng said dismissively, "It's no trouble at all. I'll bring her to your company shortly."
"Do you have any plans for tonight, Mr. Liu? I'd like to treat you and Tongtong to dinner!" She felt a bit embarrassed troubling an outsider like this.
"No need for dinner. It's not a big deal, I have things to do when I get back," Liu Yifeng declined.
Xu Muqing nodded. "Alright, perhaps we can have dinner together another time. I'm still busy, so I'll get back to work. Please drive safely!"
"Okay, you be busy!"
After hanging up, Liu Yifeng explained the situation to the teacher. The teacher, having also received a call from Yaoyao's mother, confidently handed Yaoyao over to Liu Yifeng.
Seeing Liu Yifeng picking her up, Yaoyao exclaimed excitedly, "Uncle Liu, why are you picking me up today?"
Liu Yifeng smiled. "Your mom had something to attend to, so I'm picking you up. Are you both hungry? I'll take you to get something to eat, and then I'll take you to your mom's company!"
Upon hearing they could eat out, Yaoyao raised her little hand and asked, "Can we eat KFC?"
"Daddy, I want KFC too!" Tongtong chimed in.
"Okay, then I'll take you to KFC!" Liu Yifeng readily agreed.
It seemed that children had no resistance to this food.
Although eating too much of this junk food was not good, eating it once in a while was fine.
On the way, Liu Yifeng asked with a smile, "Yaoyao, does your mom usually let you eat KFC?"
Yaoyao shook her head. "No, she doesn't. My mom says it's junk food and bad for you. But my grandma occasionally sneaks me some and tells me not to tell Mom!"
"Then, after we're done eating, we mustn't tell your mom either. This will be our little secret, okay?" Liu Yifeng said.
The two nodded repeatedly, like little chicks pecking at rice. "Okay!"
"Yay, we have a shared secret!" Yaoyao clapped her hands joyfully.
In just over ten minutes, they arrived at the KFC restaurant.
In those days, few people were willing to spend money on KFC, especially children in the countryside. Many had never even smelled KFC, making it a luxurious treat.
There weren't many people eating at the restaurant.
Liu Yifeng entered the store and found a seat by the wall for the two of them.
Soon, a waitress approached with a menu for them to order.
Liu Yifeng didn't know what Yaoyao liked, so he let her choose whatever she wanted.
The two children's mouths watered as they looked at the food on the menu.
"I want Orleans roasted wings, a beef burger, and french fries!" Yaoyao declared in one breath.
Tongtong wanted the same as Yaoyao. Liu Yifeng, fearing they would get thirsty, ordered a drink for each of them. He himself only ordered a cola.
Before long, the food was delivered.
The two put on their gloves and each held a chicken drumstick, gnawing on them.