Chapter 30 — Daddy, I’m so Happy!
“Phew… finally, freedom.”
Stepping out of the restaurant, Ling Jingxuan exhaled exaggeratedly, stretching his stiff neck from side to side. Days of comfort really did make a person lazy. He had only crossed over a few days ago, and yet just a single hour of pretending had nearly worn him out. In his previous life, for the sake of missions, he often had to disguise himself, infiltrate places, and hide for several days on end—never once feeling tired. Now, though life was modest, his heart felt calm and at ease. He had almost forgotten what it was like to live on the knife’s edge, always flirting with danger.
“Dad… Daddy, is this—all this money—really ours?”
Trailing behind him, Da Baozi still couldn’t believe it. Dad had only made some food that looked really tasty, so why had they earned a full two taels of silver? How many fish would they have had to sell to save up that much?
“Hm?”
Hearing this, Ling Jingxuan looked down at him and then smiled. “Yes, it’s all ours. Daddy worked hard to earn it.”
I worked hard—yes, working hard to act refined.
“Really? Really?”
Even after receiving confirmation, Ling Wen clutched the silver tightly and kept asking. Usually clever and precocious for his age, he was finally showing the face of a proper five-year-old child. Ling Jingxuan crouched down so their eyes met and said carefully, word by word, “It’s true. It’s ours.”
“Wow… Dad… Daddy…”
But the next second, Ling Wen suddenly threw himself into his father’s arms, clutching the money. Beside him, Ling Wu’s eyes welled up too, on the verge of tears. Passersby stopped in curiosity to watch this little scene. Ling Jingxuan had already been dumbstruck when the big bun had started bawling. After a while, he patted his son’s back and muttered softly,
“Alright, alright, we can just talk about things. You’re a big boy—how come you start crying so easily? Be good, don’t cry. Daddy’s heart can’t take it.”
He prided himself on being able to read people—who was good, who was bad, he usually could tell in a glance—but… at this moment, he truly couldn’t understand his eldest little bun. Earning money should be a happy thing. With his love of money, shouldn’t he be celebrating? So why the tears?
“Brother, don’t cry. Seeing you cry makes me want to cry too…”
Ling Wu’s tiny arms wrapped around them weakly as he choked back tears, which twinkled in his eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.
“Mmm… okay, I won’t cry. Xiao Wu won’t cry either.”
Hearing his younger brother’s sobs, Ling Wen, who always prided himself on being the older brother and setting an example, hastily climbed out of Ling Jingxuan’s arms. He wiped the tears from his own face and tugged at Ling Wu’s sleeve to help wipe his little brother’s face too. Seeing this, Ling Jingxuan’s heart ached again—these children were far too mature for their age. He’d have to find a way to bring back the carefree innocence a five-year-old should have.
“Mm, brother don’t cry either.”
Ling Wu nodded obediently, forcing the tears threatening to fall back into his eyes.
Carefully, Ling Wen placed the two silver ingots into their worn money pouch, held Ling Wu’s hand, and looked up at Ling Jingxuan. “Daddy… I’m happy. Our family finally has money.”
His big, round eyes grew wet again as he spoke. In all his years, he had never seen this much money. Thinking back to just a few days ago, when they hadn’t known where their next meal would come from, the excitement was overwhelming—and the tears spilled freely.
Just two taels of silver… and it felt like they were rich?
Ling Jingxuan wanted to make a witty remark, but no words would come out. He couldn’t—not without thinking of those bitter memories from the past. True, those were caused by the original owner of his body and had little to do with him, but his heart ached for the two children.
“Fools, didn’t you hear what Daddy just told Shopkeeper Zhang? Tomorrow they’ll need jam again—one hundred jars this time. From now on, our family is only going to get richer. Once this business goes through, I’ll send you both to the private school. Daddy’s counting on you to come back as scholars someday.”
He held each of their hands as they walked. Right now, he didn’t have grand ambitions. He only wanted to earn money, so that the two little buns could live a better life—never go hungry again, never be bullied by anyone. As for the future… thinking of the man at home who was recovering from his injuries, his handsome brows furrowed ever so slightly. He shook his head. One step at a time—nobody can predict what’s to come. As long as no one provokes him, he wouldn’t waste effort on those who didn’t concern him.
“So… we’ll have a hundred taels of silver?! Whoa…”
Hearing this, Ling Wen couldn’t contain his exclamation. Then he remembered they were still out on the street and hurriedly covered his mouth. His wide eyes, however, shone with both surprise and disbelief. A hundred taels of silver! Something he had never even dared to imagine before.
“Daddy, are we really going to have money?”
Ling Wu looked up, blinking his long, dense eyelashes. The sight was too cute for words. Ling Jingxuan shook his head helplessly.
“Yes, but later we’ll still need to buy a hundred jars, climb the mountain to pick wild fruit, and cook a hundred jars of jam overnight.”
Wait—weren’t they at the shopkeeper when he negotiated the deal? Why were they acting like they had no clue?
What Ling Jingxuan didn’t realize was that the moment he said one jar of jam cost one tael of silver, the two little buns had already gone dumbstruck. They hadn’t been paying attention to the rest of what he said—and even if they had, could five-year-olds really understand everything? Precocious or not, they weren’t adults.
“Then Daddy, let’s hurry to the pharmacy to get medicine for Second Uncle!”
As soon as Ling Wen said it, he practically bounded forward. Ling Wu followed happily, holding Ling Jingxuan’s hands on either side, almost dragging him along.
“Hey, can you slow down? No need to rush this little bit.”
Ling Jingxuan could only laugh helplessly. Silly kids—just hearing the word “money” made them bounce with energy.
“How can you not be in a hurry when there’s money to earn? Come on, Daddy!”
“Daddy, come chase us! Hurry!”
“All right, all right…”
Ignoring the crowded street, the three of them ran and laughed down the cobblestone road, leaving behind a trail of joy and laughter wherever they went.
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Translator: LazyHermitGal
Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal. A little support goes a long way! If you’d like to help me keep creating, you can do so at https://ko-fi.com/lazyhermitgal
