Dou Dou Ding Ding were, after all, just five-year-old children. They didn't know what to do and were a bit flustered.
Zhao Xiaoshan said even more smugly, "I'm not charging you. Your useless father will abandon you sooner or later. What's the benefit of following them? I'm the most qualified to be the boss."
Xie Sui was furious. Were children's arguments escalating to include adults?
They all wanted to jump in and argue with him, "You're the useless one, you and your whole family are useless!"
Dou Dou puffed out his little belly and said imposingly, "We have five, you have only one, and you're bossy and unreasonable. Who wants to play with you?"
"But he doesn't charge money."
Children are very good at calculating. Every penny is money. It can buy a piece of candy. In this day and age, it's not easy to have pocket money.
Dou Dou was at a loss. Ding Ding said, "How about we don't charge money either?"
"No, we still have to repay Dad's money. When will we earn it back if we don't charge?"
Damn Zhao Xiaoshan, he ruined their good deed.
"Dou Dou Ding Ding, Dad's back."
The little ones' eyes lit up, and they pounced into his arms. "Dad, hug me."
"Okay, Dad will hug you. Keep up, don't let my precious ones get sunburnt."
His hangers-on: "..."
Damn it, he really treats us like followers?
They arrived home, and the grain was delivered to the room. Everyone was exhausted. They hadn't done such hard work in a long time. If they were willing to work hard, they wouldn't be loafing around.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry, we didn't prepare anything at home today. I'll personally treat you to a meal another day. You should go back now, we'll arrange another time!"
"Damn it, Xie Sui, are you playing me? I worked hard for you, I didn't even have a drink of water, and you want me to leave? No way!"
One of them, named Hu Weiliang, finally exploded and grabbed Xie Sui, wanting to fight.
Lin Wanwan became nervous. She quickly hugged the children into the house to avoid them getting hurt. She also worried about Xie Sui, why did he have to provoke these people?
"Let go!"
Xie Sui's smiling face disappeared, and he stared at Hu Weiliang coldly. His imposing and icy gaze startled Hu Weiliang, who involuntarily released his hand.
"Why is it that I'm working for you? Didn't my family help you harvest corn last year? How many times have I treated you to drinks? So you only get benefits from me and don't do any work, and now you're playing tough with me?
You still have the nerve to call yourselves brothers? Do you have brothers like you?"
Hu Weiliang was in the wrong. They had indeed taken advantage of Xie Sui a lot. Who told him to be more shameless and always find ways to get money?
"Now, get out of my house. From now on, we go our separate ways. I, Xie Sui, don't have friends like you."
Xie Sui was prepared. It was time to fall out with people like this. It was better to stop associating with them.
"Don't, don't be angry. We're all friends. Why make things so ugly? We'll leave first. Xie Sui, calm down."
Someone named Yu Chengyang stepped forward to smooth things over, pulling Hu Weiliang away and diffusing the conflict.
"Damn it, they still wanted to bully me. Those ungrateful brutes!"
Xie Sui tidied his collar. His domineering aura was somewhat unfamiliar to Lin Wanwan, while the children were full of admiration, thinking, "Dad is so amazing!"
As he turned, he put on his usual smile. "Wife, I'm sorry, did I scare you? Am I impressive?"
"Hmph!"
Lin Wanwan didn't want to bother with him. It wasn't something to be proud of!
However, being able to cut ties with those people showed he had truly reformed. Lin Wanwan's lips curved upward involuntarily.
"Dad, they have more people, aren't you afraid?"
"Of course, I'm afraid. But you can't lose face. Son, remember, when it comes to fighting, it's all about momentum. The strong fear the aggressive, and the aggressive fear those who are reckless, right?"
"Xie Sui, do you want to die? How can you teach the children like that?"
Lin Wanwan was boiling water in the kitchen. Hearing him teach the children like that, she was so angry she wanted to hit him.
"Hehe, I misspoke. No matter what, you shouldn't fight. We should win people over with virtue and be civilized people.
Let's talk about the frog business being snatched. What do you plan to do?"
"Sigh..."
The two little ones sighed like adults. What could they do?
Ding Ding, the little clever one, suddenly leaned in and kissed him. "Dad, teach us. Our business was snatched, we have no money, we can't repay Dad's money, and Dad also lost money."
"That's right, that's right. Dad definitely has a way."
Xie Sui burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying his sons' admiration. These were the glorious moments of his life.
Lin Wanwan also pricked up her ears, wanting to know how Xie Sui would teach his sons.
"Firstly, Zhao Xiaoshan only wants one tin frog. We can have five. Each child plays for a while, and they'll start fighting in less than half a day. If Zhao Xiaoshan can't handle it, his subordinates will become resentful, and that will be our opportunity.
Secondly, we can organize a competition and establish a membership system. Those who play ten times will become core members. Members can participate in competitions with prizes ranging from one jiao to five fen. They can play and gain benefits, so they will naturally become your most loyal partners.
Finally, when it comes to partners, it's better to have quality than quantity. Just like Dad's friends, they aren't truly good friends with Dad, they just want benefits. It's better to have none than to have them.
"Hooray, Dad is amazing! Let's do it this way."
Xie Sui added, "The last and most important point is that your companions must have benefits. If there's only effort and no reward, it won't last.
I'll teach you a good way to make money, so your companions can earn money and play. If Zhao Xiaoshan snatches them away, you won't be the 'child king' anymore, and you'll just play in the mud at home.
"We can do it! What business is it? Dad is the best, tell us quickly."
"My shoulders are a bit sore..."
"I'll massage Dad's shoulders."
The two boys massaged Xie Sui's shoulders from either side. "My legs are a bit sore."
Then they vigorously massaged his legs. Lin Wanwan was speechless. He was like a big child. He had just become serious and immediately started acting up again.
"Ahem!"
Lin Wanwan coughed. Xie Sui immediately restrained himself and said, "Collect cicada shells. Every morning, you can find quite a few at the base of tree roots and behind leaves. Two for one fen, and I'll help you sell them."
"Cicada shells? Can those be sold?"
"Yes, they are a medicinal ingredient and are very valuable."
"Dad, how do you know so many things?"
Xie Sui said, "From reading books. I learned them from books. But you must pay attention, no climbing trees and no getting hurt."
"We want to read too, to be as amazing as Dad."
"Okay, you'll start primary school at seven. For now, learn with Mom. Dad will buy you comic books when he sells this batch of money."
"Oh, that's great."
"Let's cook. I've boiled the water. What do you want to eat?"
"Let's have noodles. It's hot weather. We can rinse them with cold water, add shredded carrots and cucumber, and mix with meat sauce. It tastes delicious."
Xie Sui enthusiastically went to make lunch. Lin Wanwan took a sip of water. Her husband was considerate, and her sons were obedient and sensible. She had never dared to dream of such a life before.