Chapter 8
After He Ying finished her follow-up visit, she said to Bai Qingyu, who saw her to the door, “You were going out just now? I can give you a ride.”
When He Ying wasn’t smiling, she was actually as aloof as He Renyuan, with an inherent sharp aura, but she always had a smile on her face in front of Bai Qingyu, afraid of scaring the child.
Bai Qingyu said, “I was planning to take Bai Xiaocha out for a walk, no specific destination, so I won’t trouble you.”
He didn’t tell the enthusiastic He Ying that he was going to take Bai Xiaocha to find a suitable kindergarten. He would solve his own problems.
He Ying, “Alright, be safe, here’s my phone number, come home early.”
Watching He Ying drive away, Bai Qingyu held the little one, filled a big-bellied cup with water, took the small cakes and snacks He Ying bought, and set off.
The kindergarten 12 kilometers away required taking a subway and then a bus.
The seats on the subway were all full. As soon as Bai Qingyu got on, someone offered him and Bai Xiaocha a seat.
“No, no, I’m fine standing.” Bai Qingyu held onto the handrail, put the little one down, and let him hold onto his leg to stand firm, “See, it’s fine like this.”
City workers each had their own hardships. The tea deity, at least in terms of physical strength, wouldn’t lose to humans. He couldn’t accept help just because he looked weak.
Tea Baby clung to his father like a barnacle, shyly saying to the person who offered the seat, “Thank you, sister.”
[He’s so cute.]
[I want to hug him, I could hug him all day.]
…
After exiting the subway station, Bai Qingyu was about to transfer to a bus when he suddenly found a job flyer in the basket of a shared bike at the subway entrance.
[Urgently hiring packaging workers from March 22nd to March 24th, piece-rate pay, no experience required, can earn 200-300 yuan a day, contact number: 188****3, address: Watermelon Logistics Park]
Hmm?
Bai Qingyu picked up the flyer. Packaging worker, it sounded simple, he could do it.
Two to three hundred a day, this kind of part-time job was hard to come by. In their hometown, the bosses who contracted farmland hired old ladies for only seventy yuan a day. If the old ladies had this salary, they would be overjoyed.
There was no reason not to take the part-time job.
Moreover, Bai Xiaocha needed to pay for kindergarten continuously. He had to save more money, in case he was fired, he would still have money to pay for tuition and rent.
“Baby, do you want to go to kindergarten or to the factory?”
“To-the-fac-tory—” Bai Xiaocha didn’t quite understand either, he chose the latter.
“Okay, they’re only hiring temporary workers for three days, don’t miss this opportunity. We’ll look for a kindergarten next week.”
Between going to school and going to the factory, the father and son unanimously chose to go to the factory.
Bai Qingyu immediately called the number above, “Hello, boss, are you still hiring?”
“Yes, just come directly, call me when you get to the gate.”
“Okay.”
Bai Qingyu entered Watermelon Logistics Park into the map app, followed the instructions, and got on a bus. An hour later, he arrived at the destination. It was already 9:30 in the morning.
The factory that was hiring was selling various cooking utensils. Bai Xiaocha was dazzled.
“Dad, such big bowls, such big spoons.”
This boss had endless spoons!
Bai Qingyu, “I’ve never seen so many types of bowls either.”
The boss was rushing a batch of goods. Some temporary workers were responsible for putting on transparent bags, some for packaging express deliveries, and some for threading a leather cord through the hole in the handle of the spoon and tying a knot.
The boss was very busy. He didn’t say anything when he saw Bai Qingyu bringing a child. Anyway, it was piece-rate pay. Bai Qingyu was responsible for threading the spoons, five cents each, he would get paid for how much he did.
A six-square-meter workbench was supported by welded iron frames, and the workers worked around it.
Bai Qingyu sat down with the little one in an empty seat, brought over a box of spoons and a bag of leather cords, and poured some onto the table.
Bai Qingyu originally planned to let his son sleep on his back, but Bai Xiaocha insisted on helping.
Bai Qingyu gave him some spoons and cords, “Baby, you’re responsible for threading the cords, I’ll tie the knots.”
“Okay.”
Adults could work on the workbench, but Bai Xiaocha could only hold them in his hands. He dangled his short legs, holding the spoon very skillfully, so skillfully that he scooped up a spoonful of air and smoothly put it in his mouth.
Baby was trying out the feel of this spoon for eating.
Bai Qingyu hurriedly stopped him.
“This spoon hasn’t been washed, you can’t eat it.”
“Oh, I won’t eat it.”
The spoon was so easy to use.
The auntie opposite saw the whole thing and laughed so hard she bent over, saying to Bai Qingyu, “Your son is so funny.”
Bai Xiaocha followed suit and laughed, “I’m so funny.”
They arrived relatively late, and others already had a pile of finished products in front of them.
Bai Xiaocha looked left and right. Oh no, Dad wouldn’t be able to earn money. He quickly pursed his lips, picked up a cord, held one end, poked it twice or three times, and accurately threaded it through the hole. He slowed down, learning from his rich experience of scooping food into his mouth, and could aim accurately the first time.
He placed the threaded spoon on the table for his father to tie the knot.
The father and son focused on their work. An hour later, Bai Qingyu bent down, took out the water bottle from the bag on the ground, and pulled out the straw, “Baby, drink some water.”
Bai Xiaocha had just threaded another one. He put the spoon on the table, pushed it a little, pushed it in a bit, and at the same time picked up a new spoon. He was working without looking up, “Baby won’t drink.”
Drinking water would make him pee, and Dad wouldn’t be able to keep up with the others.
Bai Qingyu’s hand holding the water bottle paused. He always felt that Cha Bao’s serious look was a bit like a big shot, a bit familiar.
He hadn’t noticed before today that Cha Bao had the potential to be a workaholic.
Although Bai Qingyu was determined to make money, he wasn’t obsessed with it. He was more curious about the various jobs in the human world.
“Drink a little, this is the honey water that Housekeeper Grandpa gave you.”
Honey water?!
Bai Xiaocha turned his face, his eyes shining, “Dad, then I’ll have a sip.”
Bai Qingyu’s lips curled up. You’re only two years old, how hard can you be to handle? One honey water and you’ve given in. Unlike Young Master He, he had to put in effort to make tea.
Bai Xiaocha took a sip, which was a big gulp. Bai Qingyu covered the lid and took out a small bread.
“Does any child want to eat?”
Bai Xiaocha, “Yes!”
Bai Qingyu took him to the stairwell to eat bread. At this time, the phone in his pocket rang. It was Old Man Deng calling him on the weekend.
“Grandpa Deng, hello!”
“Cha Bao, hello, hello. Are you eating well outside?”
“Very full.”
“Where are you now?”
Bai Qingyu heard this and hurriedly made a “hush” gesture, whispering to his son, “Don’t tell Grandpa we’re out working.”
If Old Man Deng knew that he had taken Cha Bao to the factory on the weekend, he would be furious and probably send all his pension money.
Bai Xiaocha understood, “Grandpa, I’m playing outside.”
Old Man Deng saw that Bai Xiaocha hadn’t lost weight after being out for so long, and had even gained a little weight. He was a little relieved, “Qingyu, Qingming is coming, remember to pick some mugwort for Cha Bao to make green rice balls.”
Old Man Deng was a person who valued traditional festivals very much. With him, Bai Xiaocha ate green rice balls on Qingming, zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival, mooncakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, tangyuan on Winter Solstice, and longevity noodles on New Year’s Day.
Bai Qingyu promised, “I’ll definitely let him eat some.”
With that, Old Man Deng was relieved, “Then I’ll hang up, you’re using data outside.”
Bai Xiaocha heard that there would be green rice balls to eat, “Dad, green rice balls are delicious.”
Bai Qingyu, “We’ll go pick mugwort tomorrow.”
At this moment, in President He’s office.
“President He, President Wang from Jinjia is here.”
“Let him go to the meeting room.”
He Renyuan closed the folder on the table, picked up the suit jacket beside him, put it on, and appeared in the meeting room in a suit.
The secretary skillfully went to the cabinet to get Huangshan Maofeng. President Wang on the other side smiled and said, “Why not try the tea I brought? Maybe President He hasn’t had it before.”
Haven’t had it before? In the past, He Renyuan wouldn’t have been interested, but now he was willing to try, maybe it was better than Bai Qingyu’s tea?
He Renyuan raised his eyebrows, leaned back a little, and acquiesced for him to take it out.
President Wang signaled to his secretary, “Go, make a pot of tea for President He.”
President Wang’s secretary was a man, but he was good-looking, with long and nimble fingers playing with the tea set. After brewing the tea, he handed it to He Renyuan. He handed the tea with his left hand, and his right hand naturally stroked He Renyuan’s arm.
Before he could touch him, He Renyuan stood up in disgust and smiled, “Thank you, President Wang, for your kindness. I’ve tasted this tea, it’s not as good as the tea my housekeeper uses for bathing. President Wang has probably been fooled.”
President Wang and the male secretary’s faces suddenly became very ugly. He Renyuan was too much, comparing the expensive tea he bought to bathwater? And a housekeeper’s at that? Damn it, He Renyuan was really impervious to all methods.
President Wang felt like there were nails under his butt, even his hair was uncomfortable. Damn it, from what he knew of He Renyuan, wasting a meeting opportunity meant there wouldn’t be a next time.
He Renyuan said, “See our guest out.”
One of the reasons why he had gradually become numb to tea over the years was that there were always people trying to get close to him through it.
Since he wanted to use this kind of improper method, it seemed that the things in the contract were not what he wanted either. There was no need to negotiate.
He Renyuan strode out of the meeting room, took off the tens of thousands of yuan custom-made jacket, and placed it on top of the trash can.
That hateful housekeeper at home was made to seem like a pure white lotus by these people.
“Your clothes are dirty, just wash them when you get home. Was Baby burned?”
“No, Dad.”
The factory owner provided lunch for everyone, ordering a fast-food takeaway for each person.
The takeaway box was the kind with four compartments made of soft plastic. If you only held one side, the other side would tip over.
Bai Xiaocha had never held this kind of lunch box before. When he was helping his father get the takeaway, he accidentally spilled some of the oily sauce from the stir-fried eggplant onto his father’s leg.
Bai Qingyu wiped it with a paper towel, opened the lid, and picked up a chopstick of eggplant for Bai Xiaocha, “Is it good?”
Bai Xiaocha, “It’s good.” Wherever there was a boss, there was free food. The boss was a good thing.
The father and son worked in the factory for a full nine hours. In the end, the boss rounded it up to two hundred yuan and also gave Tea Xiao Bao a set of chicken-wing wood spoons from large to small.
Bai Xiaocha was overjoyed. On the bus home, he kept showing them off, taking out one with a relatively deep groove, “Dad, this one is for eating porridge.”
“Dad, this one is for eating dry rice.”
“Dad, this one is for scooping apples.”
…
He assigned a use to each spoon. Bai Xiaocha leaned against his father and fell asleep, still tightly holding his set of cooking tools.
The father and son had to take a bus for an hour. They got home even later than He Renyuan.
He Renyuan didn’t see Bai Qingyu when he was eating today and frowned, “Where is Bai Qingyu?”
It was already so late, and he still wasn’t home?
The housekeeper brought up the sea urchin steamed egg made by the chairman and said, “He went out to play, I guess. He’s new to Nancheng, it’s all new to him. This is the sea urchin steamed egg made by the chairman.”
He Renyuan was indifferent, “I won’t eat it.”
The housekeeper tried to persuade him symbolically, “Madam said you should at least try it, or I should tell a white lie.”
He Renyuan got up and went back to his room, “Say whatever you want.”
The housekeeper, “Okay.”
He Renyuan took two steps and said, “Call him, he’ll be docked a day’s pay for staying out all night.”
The housekeeper, “Okay, okay.”
He Renyuan felt a little better after bullying the housekeeper.
The housekeeper immediately called Bai Qingyu, “Why aren’t you home yet? Have you had dinner?”
Bai Qingyu, “Not yet, save some leftovers.”
The housekeeper, “Has Cha Bao eaten? We’re having sea urchin steamed egg today.”
As expected of the chairman who could make it big, he knew that his cooking skills were average, so he used top-notch ingredients. Sea urchin steamed egg only required cleaning the sea urchin and beating an egg into it.
The old man was happy to make it, and the baby was happy to eat it.
Bai Qingyu said truthfully, “He can probably eat some if he sees food. Is the young master at home?”
The housekeeper said, “He’s in the study, we’ll enter through the back door.”
Speaking of which, the sun had risen from the west. He Renyuan had been home for three days in a row.
“I’ll put the food on the table, you can come up and eat when you get back,” the housekeeper instructed, “The young master asked me to order work uniforms for you. A tailor will come to take measurements tomorrow morning at eight o’clock.”
“Okay.”
Bai Qingyu entered through the back door again. This time, he learned his lesson and didn’t use a tea box to carry Cha Bao, but a delivery box.
When passing the back door, he found a dog house. He Renyuan didn’t have a dog, so it had never been used.
Luckily he didn’t have a dog.
“It would be suitable for raising chickens,” Bai Qingyu said to himself, he would discuss it with He Renyuan next time.
Back on the third floor, Bai Qingyu first gave himself and Cha Bao a bath, and then went downstairs to get the food.
As soon as he brought the sea urchin steamed egg into the room, Bai Xiaocha, who was playing hide-and-seek with himself in the quilt, sat up and pulled the quilt off his head.
The baby who had been working hard in the factory and was dirty was now white, chubby, soft, and tender.
He was almost asleep. Bai Xiaocha patted his face. Playing hide-and-seek with Uncle Boss wouldn’t make him fall asleep.
“Dad, spoons.” He had been holding wooden spoons all day today, but he hadn’t used them to eat.
Bai Qingyu helped him wash all the spoons.
The sea urchin steamed egg was in its original shell, with thorns. Bai Qingyu wanted to scoop it all into a bowl, but Bai Xiaocha wanted to try something new and insisted on scooping it out of the shell.
“Dad, Baby doesn’t need help.” The baby who was good at eating was not afraid of being pricked. He chose the right size spoon by comparing it to the sea urchin.
The tea deity lived in the mountains and rarely ate seafood. Bai Xiaocha scooped up a spoonful of tender egg custard, blew on it hard, and the egg custard rippled like a lake.
He took a bite of the smooth egg custard and fragrant sea urchin meat.
The working child finally had his dinner.
The capitalist was working in the study.
He Renyuan turned off the computer, looked up, and saw that some of the file folders on the file cabinet directly opposite him had been moved.
He had received an automatic text message in the morning that his aunt had entered his study. It wasn’t strange that things had been moved.
What was the purpose?
He called her and asked directly, “Aunt, why did you move my files?”
He Ying, “A little girl said she had your child and came to me for help. I had to look for evidence to see if it matched her story.”
He Renyuan’s eyes didn’t flicker, “Ridiculous.”
He Ying sneered, “Yes, I was joking. I just wanted to see how you were treated in Europe a year ago.”
He Renyuan, “Ineffective treatment.”
He Ying, “Poor thing.”
They had nothing in common to talk about. He Renyuan hung up the phone and opened a blank notebook.
He had developed the habit of recording his schedule every day for the past three years, but for these three days, whether it was because he was careless or intentionally avoiding it, he hadn’t recorded it.
His aunt reminded him today that he shouldn’t change his habits because of anyone.
He Renyuan picked up his pen.
A minute later, he put down the pen.
Hah, was he supposed to specifically record the days when he was being bullied by the housekeeper?
Wasn’t that the same as nailing himself to the pillar of shame with his own hand?
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Future President He: 《Diary of a Married Man》《Cooking Notes》《Parent-Child Time》
