Power and Wealth

Evening.

At home.

"Daddy!"

"Yes!"

"Daddy!"

"Repeat it!"

"...Daddy!"

"Haha, good girl, good girl!"

Dong Xuebing held his daughter in the north room, swinging her around. Xiao Qianqian’s pronunciation wasn't perfect. Instead of "daddy," it was more like "baba" with a different tone, but this still made Dong Xuebing so happy he didn't know what to do with himself. Girls generally speak earlier than boys, but Dong Xuebing didn't expect his daughter to speak this early. He thought it would be another three or six months before he could hear her call him daddy. Who would have thought it would happen so soon? Indeed, she is his daughter. She wasn’t even one and a half years old yet and could already speak. Dong Xuebing was proud. Generally, many babies can say "daddy" before they're one. The pronunciation is simpler and lacks the nasal sound of "mommy." It might not have much to do with intelligence. Dong Xuebing, like any parent, naturally believed his child was better than others.

Dong Xuebing's joyful expression also amused Luo Haiting. They had worked together for so long, and she had never seen him like this.

On the other hand, Luan Xiaoping looked quite surprised.

Dong Xuebing laughed and looked at his mother, "Mom, when did she start calling people? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? If I had known, I would have come over sooner!"

Luan Xiaoping was speechless, "She wasn’t calling anyone before."

Dong Xuebing was puzzled, "Isn't she calling me now?"

"She couldn't do it before; I’ve never heard it," Luan Xiaoping was also amazed. She pinched Xiao Qianqian’s cheek, "Come on, say grandma."

Xiao Qianqian flailed her arms and legs, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Luan Xiaoping was a bit unhappy, "Say, grandma, follow me, grandma."

"Daddy!" Xiao Qianqian still clung to her father's clothes, babbling.

Dong Xuebing was overjoyed, "So she only started calling today? Hahaha, I must be charming, right? Look, look!"

Luan Xiaoping was a bit envious and kept trying to coax her granddaughter to say grandma, but Qianqian only called her father and wouldn’t say anything else. Luan Xiaoping couldn’t help but give the baby a look, "You little ingrate. Grandma takes care of you all day, changes your diapers, feeds you, and hasn't slept well in ages. And you only like your dad, huh?"

Luo Haiting laughed, "Sister Luan, kids usually say daddy first because it's easier to pronounce. My child did the same. She could say daddy, grandma, and grandpa before saying mommy. I was quite upset then, too. She should be able to say Grandma soon."

Luan Xiaoping agreed, "Xiaobing was the same back then."

Dong Xuebing sat down with his daughter and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "Look at my good little girl, getting prettier by the day."

Maybe Dong Xuebing's beard tickled her, and Xiao Qianqian giggled. Reaching out to grab her dad's beard, she tugged without much gentleness, "Yah! Yah!"

Dong Xuebing didn’t mind; instead, he enjoyed it, stretching his neck out for her to grab.

Luan Xiaoping said, "Alright, enough playing. I should go. I need to give you some instructions. Qianqian goes to bed early but sometimes wakes up at night, so you must watch her. I didn’t bring the stroller because there’s no space. Let her sleep inside when you go to bed so she doesn’t fall and get hurt. Also, buy some more formula and diapers. Ensure she eats some meat daily, but not too salty or spicy." Dong Xuebing only half-listened, his mind elsewhere.

"Did you hear me?" Luan Xiaoping said angrily.

Dong Xuebing replied, "Yes, yes, I heard you. Got it."

Still annoyed, Luan Xiaoping said, "I'm entrusting the child's mother to you. Don't mess this up, okay? Pay attention, or you'll be in big trouble!"

Dong Xuebing, a bit impatient, said, "Got it, got it, you can trust me."

"It would be good if I could trust you. I wouldn't let you take care of the child if it weren't necessary. Now, repeat what I just said," Luan Xiaoping insisted.

At this moment, Luo Haiting said, "Director Dong, Sister Luan, I'll be heading back now."

When Dong Xuebing remembered the earlier near-miss with his mom, he felt a bit guilty and said, "Alright, take care on your way."

Luo Haiting nodded, "Sure."

"By the way, you don't have a car yet. Do you want to take mine?" Dong Xuebing offered.

"No need. I wouldn't know the way even if I drove. I'll take a taxi; the driver will know the way," Luo Haiting replied.

Luan Xiaoping looked at her and said, "Alright then, I won't see you off. In the future, I'll need you to look after Xiaobing more. His temper is too bad, and he can act impulsively. Keep an eye on him for me."

Luo Haiting agreed and left.

Luan Xiaoping continued giving instructions to Dong Xuebing for a while.

...

Around eight o'clock.

Worried about spreading her cold to Qianqian, Luan Xiaoping quickly left. A car was waiting for her outside, so she didn't stay any longer.

Only Dong Xuebing and his daughter were left in the house.

"Come on, say daddy," Dong Xuebing said, holding his daughter close.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Xiao Qianqian responded obediently, immediately calling out.

Her pronunciation was getting more accurate, almost using the fourth tone. Dong Xuebing knew whether a child spoke early often depended on how much their parents taught them. So, he did nothing else but chat with his daughter, teaching her to speak one word at a time.

Knock, knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone was at the gate.

Dong Xuebing was puzzled. Who could it be at this hour? He put Qianqian on the bed and said, "Don't move, stay here. Daddy will be right back."

Xiao Qianqian raised her hand, "Yah!"

Dong Xuebing said, "You agreed? Good girl."

"Ga-ga... yah!" Xiao Qianqian seemed to understand she was being praised and smiled happily.

Dong Xuebing patted his daughter's head and walked out of the north room to see who was at the door.

"Hmm?"

"Xuebing."

"Sister Luo?"

It was Luo Haiting, who had left not long ago.

Dong Xuebing was surprised, "Didn't you go home? Why are you back?" He stepped aside to let her in and closed the gate.

"Your mother went home?" Luo Haiting asked.

"Yes, she left a while ago," Dong Xuebing answered.

Luo Haiting raised the items in her hand, "I didn’t have anything to do, and your mother mentioned the child needed formula and diapers. I thought you might be busy, so I bought them for you. There’s also a bottle and other things the baby might need."

Dong Xuebing quickly took the heavy plastic bag, "Oh, I can't thank you enough for this."

Luo Haiting smiled, "No need to be polite. Where's the child?"

"She's on the bed inside," Dong Xuebing pointed.

Luo Haiting exclaimed, "Don’t leave the child alone on the bed. Without something to block her, she might fall off and get hurt."

The two of them quickly returned to the room.

Fortunately, Xiao Qianqian was obedient, sitting there without moving and maintaining her position when Dong Xuebing left. Her big eyes blinked as she watched the doorway as if she understood what Dong Xuebing had told her. She hadn't moved a muscle, filling Dong Xuebing with satisfaction and accomplishment. This was his good daughter, so well-behaved!

Dong Xuebing couldn't help but kiss his daughter again.

But for some reason, as soon as he kissed her, Xiao Qianqian's big eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she started crying loudly.

Dong Xuebing was startled, "What's wrong, baby? What's wrong?"

Xiao Qianqian continued to cry, tears streaming down her face.

Dong Xuebing was heartbroken and didn't know what to do, "Are you hungry? I'll make you some formula. Oh no, there's no hot water!"

The room was in chaos.

Only Luo Haiting remained calm, experienced as she was with children. She slowly walked over, picked up Qianqian, and touched her. "She's wet."

Dong Xuebing realized, "What should we do?"

Luo Haiting pointed out, "Hand me a diaper."

"Alright, alright." Dong Xuebing was at a loss, not because he wasn't steady but because he cared too much about his child. When his daughter cried, he panicked. He quickly grabbed a pack of diapers, tore it open, and handed it to Luo Haiting. "Here, quickly, change her."

Luo Haiting nodded, unhurriedly took off Qianqian's wet diaper and threw it on the floor. She asked Dong Xuebing to fetch a towel dampened with warm water to clean Qianqian's bottom, let it air dry, and then expertly put on a new diaper. "All done."

Qianqian's tears finally stopped.

Dong Xuebing breathed a sigh of relief, "That scared me."

Luo Haiting laughed, "You're just too nervous. You haven't taken care of a child much. You'll get the hang of it with practice. By the way, you should boil some water. It needs to be hot. The new bottles need to be sterilized with boiling water. And it's time to feed her, or she'll be hungry and won't sleep well tonight."

Dong Xuebing took her advice to heart, knowing she had more experience. "Got it. I'll do it right away." He didn't go to the kitchen; instead, he took a kettle, filled it with water, and placed it on the stove in the north room, lighting the fire beneath it.

Washing the bottle.

Mixing the formula.

Cooling it down.

Feeding the baby.

Dong Xuebing didn't get a moment's rest that evening.

Caring for a child was indeed a lot of work and quite troublesome. Luckily, Luo Haiting was there to help. Otherwise, he wouldn't have managed on his own.