Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Dad takes care of the child

The next morning, Xia Qinqin was awakened by her mother's gentle voice. She rubbed her eyes and saw her father next to her. She asked curiously, "Hey, is it Sunday again today?"

In Xia Qinqin's mind, her father is usually out when she wakes up in the morning, and she only sees him when she wakes up on Sundays.

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "It's not Sunday. Dad has taken a day off today. Can I take you to the pier in the morning?"

Xia Qinqin's confused mind cleared up and she asked, "So I don't have to go to kindergarten today?"

Xia Junshan nodded, "Yes, you can also take a day off today and accompany dad, okay?"

Xia Qinqin turned around and asked Meng Yufei: "Where's Mom? Is she coming too?"

Meng Yufei tucked her messy hair behind her ears and shook her head, "I won't go with you. Mom has to go to work. Can Dad take care of you today?"

Xia Qinqin thought about it and nodded: "Okay, I want to be with Dad."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Then let's get up."

Xia Junshan picked up his daughter from the bed and went out to brush his teeth and wash his face.

Squatting in front of the sink, Xia Qinqin looked at the toothpaste Xia Junshan squeezed and reminded him, "Dad, you squeezed too much."

Xia Junshan looked down and saw that Xia Qinqin was using a small toothbrush. He was used to squeezing out the amount of toothpaste according to his own use, and there was indeed too much on this small toothbrush.

Use the brush head to rub the excess paste on the mouth of the toothpaste tube.

"Here, this one is almost there." Xia Junshan handed her the small toothbrush.

Xia Qinqin took the toothbrush and started brushing her teeth.

After brushing her teeth, Xia Junshan handed the mouthwash cup to her mouth, "Come on, rinse your mouth. Don't swallow the water. Spit it out, okay?"

"Woo woo, Jidao..." Xia Qinqin spit out the mouthwash in her mouth and said seriously: "Dad, I'm not a three-year-old child anymore. I can brush my teeth."

Xia Junshan smiled and nodded: "Okay, Qinqin is a big kid now."

He turned around and picked up the towel to wash his daughter's face. He wet it, dried it, and gently wiped Qinqin's little face.

"Dad, you still need to put on perfume!" Xia Qinqin reminded after washing her face.

"Uh... go ask mom where the perfume is." Xia Junshan couldn't figure out which of the several jars on the dressing table was the perfume for his daughter.

Inside the house, Meng Yufei took out the clothes she was going to change for today, and saw Xia Qinqin trotting in, smiling and asking for perfume. Meng Yufei applied some cold cream on her with a smile, and then changed her pajamas.

She was dressed in new clothes sent by Haishi: a light green long-sleeved top and blue cropped pants. This set of clothes is made of pure cotton, which is breathable and comfortable.

Meng Yufei picked up a comb and braided her daughter's hair into two small braids, and put a bow hairpin on the side. Xia Qinqin liked it very much, and she shook her head happily, and the two small braids swung along with it.

The mother and daughter came to the living room. Meng Yufei took out the water bottle from Xia Qinqin's small schoolbag, filled it halfway with water, and said to Xia Junshan, "Remember to feed her water on time in the morning, otherwise she will forget to drink water when she starts playing."

"I put the handkerchief in my bag. It's hot. If she sweats while playing, remember to wipe her sweat off. Otherwise, she'll catch a cold if the wind blows."

"Also, there's a candy in the bag. She's only allowed to eat one in the morning. She has to rinse her mouth after eating it, otherwise her teeth will be damaged."

Xia Junshan took the bag, nodded as he listened, and when Meng Yufei finished, he smiled and said, "I've written it all down. Don't worry, it's only one morning."

After packing up, the family of three went out to the cafeteria to have breakfast. Xia Qinqin sat on the chair and swung her little feet happily. It was her first time to have breakfast in the cafeteria with her parents.

After dinner, Meng Yufei went to work first. Before leaving, she told the father and daughter: "Qinqin, you have to listen to your father today. Junshan, don't take her to play in the water."

Xia Qinqin and Xia Junshan nodded, "Yeah, got it."

After seeing Meng Yufei off, Xia Junshan said to his daughter, "Let's go to the dock. Do you want daddy to carry you?"

Xia Qinqin shook her head, "I want to walk by myself. I know the way. Dad, I'll take you to the pier."

As he said this, he took Xia Junshan's hand and walked towards the gate of the family compound. Xia Junshan followed behind and said with a smile: "Okay, Dad will follow you."

At the Nanya Island Pier, Lu Shaohuan, dressed in military uniform, looked down at his nephew in front of him and said with a smile, "Hey, I'm about to leave. Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Lu Yannan lowered his head, staring at the stones under his feet, feeling awkward and unwilling to speak.

Lu Shaohuan shrugged and said to the communicator Xiao Zhao behind Lu Yannan: "Please send him back to the kindergarten later."

Xiao Zhao nodded and said, "Okay, got it."

Teacher Li had a meeting in the morning and did not come to see him off. He specially sent the correspondent Xiao Zhao to bring Lu Yannan to the dock and take him to the kindergarten afterwards.

Lu Shaohuan turned around and saw a familiar figure walking towards him from a distance, holding a child in his hands.

He smiled and waved, recognizing that it was Xia Junshan who came to see him off.

When they came closer, he said with a smile: "Captain, you are here to see me off. Why did you bring Qinqin with you?"

Xia Qinqin raised her head and greeted him: "Hello, Uncle Lu. My father and I are here to take you off the island. Have a safe trip."

Lu Shaohuan bent down and said with a smile: "Thank you, uncle will send you some chocolates when he returns."

"Thank you, uncle~" Xia Qinqin smiled sweetly.

"You're welcome." Lu Shaohuan couldn't help but touch her braid.

"Captain, daughters are still the best. Look how good Qinqin is at speaking. She's not like our boy who's always been silent."

Xia Junshan said: "I think Yan Nan has a calm personality. He is not like you who keeps talking nonsense."

Lu Shaohuan said: "Captain, since you think my nephew is not bad, I'll trouble you to take care of him in the future."

Xia Junshan smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "You are still being polite to me! Don't worry, I will take good care of Yannan."

The two chatted for a while, and then heard the whistle behind them. Xia Junshan said, "The ship has arrived. You should get on board first. Be careful on your journey. We will meet again in the future."

Lu Shaohuan nodded: "Okay, see you next time."

Before leaving, he said to Lu Yannan: "If you have any problems in the future, besides looking for Uncle Li, you can also look for Uncle Xia. I'm leaving first, you stay here, I'll come to pick you up in a while."

Lu Yannan looked up at Lu Shaohuan's smiling face and nodded, "Yeah."

Lu Shaohuan smiled and rubbed Lu Yannan's hair. As expected, he was met with his nephew's dissatisfied look. He laughed twice and turned to get on the boat.

Several people watched the boat leave the pier.

The communicator Xiao Zhao said, "Captain Xia, I'm going to send Yannan back to the kindergarten first."

Xia Junshan nodded, "Okay, you guys go first."

Xia Qinqin turned to look at Lu Yannan beside her, smiled and waved, saying, "Goodbye, Yannan. You must learn the new song that Teacher Zhou teaches you when you go to kindergarten."

Lu Yannan said: "Weren't you feeling unwell yesterday?"

Xia Qinqin said: "Yes, so I don't have to go to kindergarten."

Lu Yannan frowned slightly and asked, "Aren't you going to kindergarten today?"

"Yeah, I'm going to play with my dad today." Xia Qinqin said happily.

Xiao Zhao reminded, "Yannan, let's go, it's time for kindergarten class."

Lu Yannan suddenly ran up to Xia Junshan, looked up and asked, "Uncle Xia, can I play with you guys? You just promised my uncle that you would take care of me."

Xia Junshan looked down at the little boy in front of him who was making a request with a stern face, and said, "Uh...but you have to go to kindergarten."

Lu Yannan glanced at Xia Qinqin and asked, "Then why doesn't she...Xia Qinqin need to go to kindergarten."

When Xia Qinqin heard him talking about her, she immediately said, "Because I asked for leave. Only when parents and teachers ask for leave, children don't have to go to kindergarten."

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Yes, she asked for leave."

Lu Yannan turned to the communicator Xiao Zhao and said, "Uncle Xiao Zhao, please ask for leave for me and the kindergarten."

"Ah? Asking for leave, but the teacher didn't inform me." Xiao Zhao scratched his head in embarrassment.

Xia Junshan said, "Xiao Zhao, go ask for leave. When you report back to the division commander, tell him that I took Yannan out for fun."

After hearing what Xia Junshan said, Xiao Zhao nodded and said, "Okay, Captain Xia, I'll go to the kindergarten and ask for leave now."

Xia Junshan lowered his head and said to Lu Yannan: "Then you can play with us today."

Lu Yannan nodded with satisfaction, with a slight smile on his face.

Xia Qinqin asked: "Dad, what are we going to play?"

"Um...what do you want?"

"I want to play with the sea! I also want to talk to the birds. They must miss me."

"No!" Xia Junshan rejected it outright. "Have you forgotten what mom just said? You are not allowed to play in the water."

Xia Qinqin pouted unhappily, and Xia Junshan squatted in front of her and suggested, "How about we go play in the sand, and then go play in the water with Mom on Saturday afternoon?"

Hearing that they could play with sand, Xia Qinqin thought it was fun and nodded, "Okay, I'll also build a car."

"Okay, Dad will build you another airplane this time." Xia Junshan smiled and touched his daughter's bouncing braids.

"Yannan, can we go build sand piles together?" After Xia Junshan coaxed his daughter, he turned around and asked Lu Yannan.

Lu Yannan, who had been watching the interaction between the father and daughter in silence, came back to his senses, met the similar looks from the two children, nodded blankly and said, "Okay."

Xia Qinqin smiled and took Lu Yannan's hand, "That's great. Let me tell you, my dad is amazing. He can make a lot of things with sand. Just tell my dad what you want and he will make it for you."

Xia Junshan led the two children to the coast. Xia Qinqin held Xia Junshan with one hand and Lu Yannan with the other, humming Teacher Zhou's Protestant song.

"Sailing on the sea depends on the helmsman,

All things grow with the help of the sun.

..."

Although she is small, her pitch is very accurate. With her clear and pleasant voice, Xia Junshan praised her repeatedly: "Great, Qinqin sings so beautifully."

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "Teacher Zhou also praised my singing."

She turned to Lu Yannan and said, "Student Yannan, let me teach you to sing. Teacher Zhou said that every one of us kids must learn to sing."

Lu Yannan refused: “No need.”

"Huh? Why?"

“I don’t like singing.”

Xia Qinqin tilted her head and looked at Lu Yannan in surprise, thinking that he was such a strange child. How could he have so many things he disliked?

…

Meng Yufei arrived at the office, and Xiao Zhang came over and said, "Sister Meng, Section Chief Chen from the Personnel Department just came over and said that the recruitment list for the supply and marketing cooperative has been released. Guess who is on it?"

Meng Yufei shook her head, "Who are they?"

Xiao Zhang said: "Li Shuini, Tong Caifeng, Wei Shufang."

Meng Yufei: "?!...How did Tong Caifeng get chosen?"

Xiao Zhang glanced at the door and said in a low voice, "Who knows? They said they thought she had been with the army for a long time and had not arranged any work for her, so they gave her a chance."

Meng Yufei: "That's not right. I remember the notice said that the job openings required primary school graduates. This Tong Caifeng only attended a blindness class, right?"

Xiao Zhang said, "You happened to be at the Women's Committee at that time yesterday. Tong Caifeng had already made a scene next door. She insisted that the graduation certificate of the literacy class should be equivalent to the elementary school diploma. She also said that it was unfair to require academic qualifications when recruiting salespeople... Anyway, after arguing for a long time, the director finally came and agreed to let her register."

Meng Yufei was surprised and said, "Then why not continue to select her for the interview?"

In order to calm her down, I agreed to let her register and just not choose her in the end. Who knew that she would actually be chosen for the interview.

Xiao Zhang shrugged: "Who knows? I guess they are afraid that she will continue to cause trouble."

The two chatted for a few words and then started working. Meng Yufei drafted a plan for the May Day activities, and Xiao Zhang sorted out the financial statements for this month.

After a while, when the work was almost done, Xiao Zhang stretched and stood up to pour some water.

Meng Yufei looked up and asked her casually, "Xiao Zhang, before I came, were there any conflicts between Wei Shufang and the current kindergarten teacher Tang Jiayi?"

Xiao Zhang turned around and said, "Sister Meng, why are you asking this?"

Meng Yufei said: "I found it when I went to the kindergarten yesterday."

Xiao Zhang thought for a moment and said, "It seems that these two people have never quarreled. Oh, I remember! Sister Meng, do you still remember our accountant Zhou in the Finance Department? He was the one who quit his job after a conflict with his family members."

Meng Yufei nodded. Of course she remembered that it was because of her that she came to work in the Finance Department.

Xiao Zhang continued, "Wasn't she a primary school teacher in town before? After she came to the finance department, the primary school was short of a teacher. At that time, there were rumors that they wanted to choose between Tang Jiayi and Wei Shufang."

"I guess they had some unpleasantness at that time, but didn't Accountant Zhou go back later? And now they are both kindergarten teachers, so what's the conflict?"

After listening to Xiao Zhang's words, Meng Yufei thought that Qi Huiying seemed to have mentioned competing for jobs at that time. It seems that the job of elementary school teacher was quite popular at that time.

It seems likely that Wei Shufang went to the lake to catch the snake in order to get rid of her biggest competitor, Tang Jiayi, who also had a high school education, and planned to bite the twins from Tang Jiayi's family.

Unfortunately, I also went to the island at that time. Wei Shufang might have mistakenly thought that I was going to steal the elementary school teacher's job like Qi Huiying, so I used the snake on Qinqin.

The fact is just as Meng Yufei guessed. The three most likely candidates for the primary school teacher position, Wei Shufang, Qi Huiying, and Tang Jiayi, all had high school education.

Qi Huiying had just arrived on the island. She was young, inexperienced, and didn't know how to behave. Wei Shufang didn't take her seriously at all. She thought her biggest competitor was Tang Jiayi, and she had made a plan to get rid of this person. But who knew Meng Yufei came, and she had a college degree!

Wei Shufang suddenly changed her mind. She kept her plan but changed her target.

Seeing Meng Yufei in a trance, Xiao Zhang asked curiously, "Sister Meng, what are you thinking about?"

"Ah... I was wondering why Wei Shufang went to the supply and marketing cooperative to recruit workers again this time." Meng Yufei said.

Xiao Zhang took a sip of water and said, "What else could it be? The welfare benefits of the supply and marketing cooperative are good. I think it is most likely her this time. Look at the other two. I won't mention Tong Caifeng. When Li Shuini was a temporary elementary school teacher, she was fired because of a complaint from parents. How could she pass the interview for a salesperson?"

Meng Yufei smiled and said thoughtfully: "Wei Shufang's two competitors this time are quite interesting."

Xiao Zhang also said meaningfully: "Isn't it?"

After a while, Section Chief Chen from next door knocked on the door and said, "Director Meng, please come with us to the supply and marketing cooperative this afternoon to participate in this interview and selection."

Meng Yufei said, "Chief Chen, I can't leave here. I said yesterday that I will not participate in this recruitment."

Section Chief Chen said, "The director asked you to go. The final candidate still needs to be discussed by the judges."

Meng Yufei paused, but still nodded and said, "Okay then."

After Section Chief Chen left, Xiao Zhang said, "Sister Meng, you really have to drag us along."

Meng Yufei spread her hands and said, "The director has already said that I will go and get the numbers this afternoon."

After saying that, Meng Yufei lowered her head and looked at the notebook in front of her, thinking of a plan in her mind.

She couldn't let such a dangerous person stay on the island any longer.

…

On the beach, Xia Junshan and his two children piled up a row of cars and a row of airplanes out of sand.

Xia Qinqin pointed at the airplane and asked, "Dad, why is it called an airplane?"

Xia Junshan explained: "Because it can fly, it is a machine that flies in the sky."

Xia Qinqin lay on the sand, looking at the plane carefully. "It has wings like a bird, so it can fly, right?"

Xia Junshan said: "Yes, it also has wings."

"Dad, have you ever been on a plane?"

"Yeah, I've ridden in a helicopter before. It's a little smaller than this plane."

"Wow, I also want to take a plane and fly into the sky."

Xia Junshan pulled up his daughter who was lying on the sand and said with a smile, "When you grow up, you will have the opportunity to take a plane."

Xia Qinqin patted the sand on her hands, ran to Lu Yannan and squatted down. Seeing him lowering his head and playing with the sand seriously, she said, "Brother Yannan, I will take you on a plane in the future."

Lu Yannan continued to pile up sand in his hands and said calmly: "No need, I've already been on a plane."

"Ah? You've been on a plane!" Xia Qinqin asked in surprise, "Why can you ride on a plane without having to grow up?"

Lu Yannan said: "I sat with my grandfather."

Xia Qinqin tilted her head and said, "Ah, so if you want to sit with your grandpa, you don't have to grow up, but I don't have a grandpa..."

Lu Yannan pursed her lips and whispered, "You can also come with my grandpa." - Grandpa always said that it would be nice if he had a brother or sister. Since my uncle likes her so much, grandpa would like her too.

Xia Qinqin heard this and said happily, "Really? Thank you, Brother Yannan. I will take you to see my grandpa in the future. He will take us to a big hotel to eat delicious food."

Xia Junshan glanced at the sky, walked over to the two children and said, "Yannan, what do you want to pile? I'll help you pile it. Let's go home after we're done. It's almost time for lunch."

Xia Qinqin followed up and said, "My dad knows how to pile up everything."

Lu Yannan looked up and asked, "Anything is fine?"

Xia Junshan asked, "What do you want to build?"

Lu Yannan looked at the sand on the ground and said, "I want to build a laboratory."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "...Well, this is difficult and cannot be completed by one person. Let's do it next time."

Lu Yannan was silent for two seconds, clapped his hands, stood up and said, "Uncle, let's go back and eat."

Xia Qinqin also stood up and said, "It's time to eat."

When Meng Yufei got off work, she saw an adult and two children coming to pick her up at the bottom of the stairs. Xia Qinqin trotted over to hug her mother.

Meng Yufei stretched out her hand and pressed her little head, "Why is there so much sand on your body? And on your hair too!"

Xia Qinqin pouted and said coquettishly: "Mom, let's go play in the sand."

Meng Yufei glanced at the people in front of her. Xia Junshan touched his nose, walked over and picked up Xia Qinqin, and said with a smile: "I'll hold you, and we'll heat water for a bath when we get back."

Meng Yufei glared at him unhappily, "Who would take a child to play in the sand so early in the morning?"

Xia Junshan said: "It just so happens that there are no people on the beach, so it's more convenient to play."

Xia Qinqin said: "Yes, yes, it's very convenient."

Meng Yufei twitched her nose in amusement, "Do you know what convenience means?"

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "Well...convenience is convenience."

Meng Yufei turned around and greeted Lu Yannan with a smile: "Yannan, you are going to play too."

Lu Yannan nodded and said, "Yes, hello, Aunt Meng."

Xia Junshan said, "Let's go to the cafeteria to get food. Yan Nan will go home with us at noon. No one is at the commander's house."

Meng Yufei nodded: "Okay." Then she took Lu Yannan's hand and walked towards the cafeteria.

Lu Yannan looked at the shadows on the ground. On the left was Meng Yufei, and on the right was Xia Junshan holding Xia Qinqin. They looked like a family.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Meng Yufei asked, "Yannan, what do you want to eat?"

Lu Yannan glanced at the dishes in the window and said, "Fish, please."

Xia Qinqin said: "My mother also likes to eat fish."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Then let's get one portion of fish and one portion of the shrimp that Qinqin likes."

"Okay~"

After getting home from lunch, Xia Junshan took his two children to wash their hands at the faucet. Their hands were covered in sand and it took a long time to wash them clean.

When the three of them entered the room, Meng Yufei had already poured the food from the lunch box into the plate and was setting the table. She turned to the door and said, "Wash your hands, come and eat."

The square table was just right for one person to sit on. Meng Yufei picked up a piece of fish for Lu Yannan and said, "The chef in the cafeteria is really good. Try it."

Lu Yannan picked up the chopsticks and said, "Okay, thank you, Auntie."

Xia Junshan peeled a shrimp and passed it to Xia Qinqin, "Qinqin, taste today's shrimp and see if it tastes good."

Xia Qinqin opened her mouth and ate the shrimp, nodding and giving a thumbs up as she ate, "Mm-hmm, delicious."

Xia Junshan peeled a shrimp for each of Lu Yannan and Meng Yufei, "You guys try it too."

Meng Yufei said: "Eat first, and then peel it later."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "It's okay, I'm not hungry."

Lu Yannan buried his head and ate the fish and shrimp in the bowl. He felt that what Aunt Meng said was right. The chef in this cafeteria had excellent cooking skills.

After lunch, Xia Junshan went to heat water for bathing. Meng Yufei said, "Yannan, I will ask your uncle to go home and get your change of clothes later. Can you take a bath too?"

Lu Yannan shook his head and said, "No need, Auntie, I'm not dirty."

Meng Yufei then took a closer look at his clothes. They were indeed not dirty, and there was no sand in his hair.

"Okay, then you can wash your face and take a nap later. Can Uncle Xia sleep with you?" The second bedroom had just been cleaned up in the past two days.

Lu Yannan shook his head and said, "No need, Auntie, I can sleep by myself."

"Wow, Yannan is so brave to sleep alone."

Meng Yufei glanced at Xia Qinqin, and Xia Qinqin, the clever little girl, turned her head away, pretending not to notice her mother's gaze. Meng Yufei shook her head in amusement.

Lu Yannan said calmly: "I have always slept alone. I am not an ignorant child."

Xia Qinqin: “…” Humph, classmate Lu is so annoying!

After the bath water was ready, Meng Yufei washed Xia Qinqin's hair and gave her a bath. Before her hair was dry, Xia Qinqin fell asleep.

Meng Yufei wiped her daughter's hair while she said to Xia Junshan, "You can send them to kindergarten this afternoon. I will go to the supply and marketing cooperative for an interview this afternoon. Wei Shufang is on the interview list."

Wei Shufang will go to the supply and marketing cooperative in the afternoon and will not go to the kindergarten as it is safe there for the time being.

Xia Junshan understood what she meant and nodded, "Okay."