novelraw Chapter 99: Daddy Is the Best
Chapter 99: Daddy Is the Best
She pouted, tugging at the corner of Ling Anxun’s shirt and shaking it hard.
"Daddy, are you going to miss me when I go to the countryside?"
Ling Anxun chuckled softly and ruffled her curly hair.
"As long as you have fun, Dad will be happy."
Shanshan immediately buried her face in his palm, nuzzling against it like a purring kitten.
"I knew it, Daddy’s the best!"
She giggled, squirming her way into his arms.
"Fourth Brother said there are streams, fireflies, and roasted corn back home! I want to see them all!"
She threw her arms high in the air, bouncing on the tips of her toes.
"The streams are so clear you can see the little fish! The fireflies glow at night, like fallen stars! And the corn, they roast it right over a fire! It smells so good you can smell it from miles away!"
The flash of reluctance in Ling Anxun’s eyes was completely swallowed up by her carefree laughter.
He watched her cheerful, bouncing figure, his fingertips curling unconsciously.
That hint of sadness lingered in his eyes for only a moment before being washed away by her blissful smile.
"This child..."
He shook his head and sighed softly.
The little girl who used to always demand hugs and cry whenever he had to leave had grown up.
"Shanshan, you can play during summer break, but you can’t fall behind on your studies."
He squatted down to her level, his tone turning a bit more serious.
"Studying is like walking. You can’t stop for a single step, or other people will pass you."
"Huh?"
She blinked, a look of complete confusion on her face.
"But Grandma said break is for having fun!"
"Grandma also said that if kids don’t play when they’re young, they won’t get to play when they’re old..."
Her voice trailed off as her head slowly drooped.
"I’ll only play for a few days... just a few days..."
She sniffled, looking up at him pitifully.
"You came in first in your class this time, but everyone else is secretly studying over the summer."
Ling Anxun placed a stack of workbooks in front of her.
"If your rank drops when school starts, your classmates will laugh at you."
The stack of books was piled high, like a small mountain.
"Getting first place isn’t easy. Don’t lose it so casually."
She glanced at the pile of books and grumbled to herself.
’Not this again.’
’Every time I’m happy, homework always has to come and ruin it...’
She sighed inwardly, her little face scrunching up.
But she still agreed out loud.
"Fine, fine, I’ll do them."
She kept her head down, tracing circles on the ground with the tip of her shoe.
"Work, work, work... once I finish, I can go to the countryside, right?"
She peeked up at him, her voice soft and tentative.
But then she glanced back at her father’s face.
His brows were still slightly furrowed, his expression calm and unreadable.
"Daddy, Shanshan misses you so much. When I get to the old house, I’ll think of you every single night."
She suddenly threw herself into his arms, her small hands wrapped tightly around his neck, her voice muffled.
"I’ll call you, and I’ll take pictures of the fireflies for you! You’re not allowed to forget me, okay?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Ling Anxun’s expression visibly softened.
The coldness in his eyes dissipated, and his whole face warmed up.
He raised a hand and gently patted her back, his voice low and soft.
"Mm, Daddy will miss you too."
Shanshan sighed quietly to herself.
’There he goes again...’
She shook her head and chuckled inwardly.
’This dad of mine. He’s clearly the one who can’t bear for me to leave, but he always pretends like it’s nothing.’
’What am I supposed to do with a dad like this?’
She was the one going away to have fun, but he was acting like he was the one being abandoned.
She gave a tiny eye-roll, then quickly stopped and put on an obedient expression.
"Daddy’s the best!"
She had originally planned to call and coax him every day.
But as soon as she arrived at the old family home, her grandpa, Ling Zhiwei, was taking her all over the mountains every day.
Who had time to remember her dad back home, working overtime and waiting for a call?
In the morning, before the rooster even crowed, her grandpa would come knocking on her door, whistling.
"Shanshan, time to go up the mountain and pick wild berries!"
In the afternoon, when the sun was fierce, he’d shoulder a hoe and head into the woods.
"Come on, let’s go watch the cicadas shed their shells!"
At night, when the fireflies took flight, he’d grab a bamboo basket and run toward the stream.
"Hurry up! We’re grilling fish tonight!"
She’d chase after her grandpa, her shoes caked in mud and her pant legs rolled up high, laughing her carefree laugh.
The mountains were full of paths, trees, and streams.
The moment Shanshan set foot in them, she was like a fish leaping into a river—utterly free.
Beneath her feet was soft earth, and the air was filled with the scent of fresh grass mixed with wildflowers.
Her ears were filled with the chirping of birds, the buzzing of cicadas, and the babbling song of the stream.
She waded barefoot into the stream, the water refreshingly cool.
Little fish darted past her feet, and she giggled as she chased them, kicking up strings of splashes.
She was having the time of her life.
While searching for wild vegetables on a mountainside, she casually dug into the dirt and unearthed a few thick, sturdy wild yams.
Amidst a tangle of vines, she suddenly spotted an old ginseng plant hidden in a rock crevice.
She froze for a second, then her eyes lit up. She yanked it out and held it in her arms.
But in Shanshan’s eyes, these things were no different from the weeds on the side of the road.
To her, they were just things she had pulled out of the ground.
You couldn’t trade them for candy or popsicles, making them less useful than the sweet potatoes in the field.
She weighed the old ginseng in her hand, gave it a sniff, and finding nothing special about its smell, tossed it casually into her basket.
’It looks so weird. It might even be poisonous.’
At dinnertime, Ding Qin had stewed a pot of pheasant soup, which was steaming and fragrant.
Shanshan went over to help and caught sight of the strange ginseng root in her basket.
Remembering her grandpa saying that good things were meant to be used, she unthinkingly grabbed it and tossed it into the pot.
It was only when everyone sat down to eat that they discovered a human-shaped thing soaking in the soup.
The family was gathered around the table. Just as Ling Zhen De scooped up a spoonful of soup, his eyes narrowed and his chopsticks froze.
"Hey? Is that... is that a ginseng root in the pot?"
Everyone’s gaze snapped to the center of the pot, where the old ginseng root was floating, fully unfurled.
The entire pot of soup had been dyed a pale yellow.
Ding Qin was so frantic she started stamping her feet.
"This isn’t some common herb! This is a priceless treasure! It’s something that revitalizes your energy, nourishes your spirit, and extends your life! And you just stewed it in a chicken soup?! Oh, my heavens!"
As she spoke, she stared brokenheartedly at the ginseng in the pot, wishing she could snatch it out and put it on an altar.
Ling Zhenkang didn’t scold her, but his eyes kept darting toward the pot, the pain on his face palpable.
That was a wild ginseng root that had been growing for at least a hundred years.
You couldn’t buy something like that on the market. It was worth a fortune.
And now it had been treated like a common side dish and boiled away in an ordinary soup.
He pulled Shanshan over to him, wanting to have a serious talk with her.
Ling Zhenkang sighed, pulled his granddaughter to his side, and squatted down.
"Shanshan, some things can’t just be casually thrown into a meal. You need to learn to tell the difference between a treasure and a common weed, understand?"
But Shanshan looked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"If it’s a good thing, then of course we should use it for our own family! If Grandma and Grandpa want more, I’ll go dig some up tomorrow!"
She blinked, her tone impossibly sincere.
"It’s not like I’m stingy with it. If it’s good for you, shouldn’t you eat it right away? After you drink this, you’ll be strong enough to walk the mountain paths without getting winded. If we run out, I’ll just go find more on the back mountain. There’s plenty there!"
Ling Zhen De and Ding Qin exchanged a look, almost bursting into laughter.
This kid was bold and brazen.
She not only dared to venture into the deep woods, but she also dared to climb steep slopes and cross streams.
She could wander through places even old hunters were afraid to go and come back with spoils.