Chapter 336 - 333: Babysitting

Chapter 336: Chapter 333: Babysitting

The lunch was a sumptuous spread. There was tomato beef brisket, Lin Yanwan’s favorite, and braised pork ribs, which Jiang Xia loved. There was also a large dish of Sichuan boiled fish and several other delectable vegetable dishes.

"Have a taste. How is it?" Ji Wanqiu said, setting the last dish—fried potato chunks—on the table.

"It smells amazing," Jiang Xia said with a smile. "I haven’t had Mom’s cooking in so long."

He opened a carton of warmed peanut milk and poured it into everyone’s cups in turn.

"If you like it, then eat up." Ji Wanqiu smiled faintly. She carefully used her chopsticks to pick the bones out of a piece of fish before giving it to her younger daughter.

"Mhm."

Jiang Xia picked up a piece of beef brisket, stewed until perfectly tender in a pressure cooker, and placed it in Lin Yanwan’s bowl. He then tried a piece himself—it was delicious.

"So, when are you two planning on heading to the Imperial Capital?" Lin Gaoyuan asked, gnawing on a pork rib.

"We start work on the seventh, so we have to leave on the sixth," Jiang Xia said.

"Same here."

His father-in-law nodded slightly. His own factory hadn’t started the New Year’s holiday yet. In two days, it would be the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. The break would run from New Year’s Eve until the sixth, and work would officially resume on the seventh.

He was overcome with emotion. ’Jiang Xia is so young, yet he’s already the boss of a major company. I can’t just see him as the punk who stole my daughter anymore. If you set aside our father-in-law and son-in-law relationship, I’m the one who has to rely on him in many ways.’

’Thank goodness. No matter how capable this kid gets, he still has to call me Dad.’ The thought instantly made Lin Gaoyuan feel much better.

"Xiaxia, what is Yanwan doing with you now? Is it just voice acting?" Ji Wanqiu asked, her curiosity piqued.

Jiang Xia glanced at Lin Yanwan and said with a smile, "Oh, her? She holds quite a few positions. For instance, she’s in charge of the company’s finances—all expenditures require her signature. On top of that, she’s also the music supervisor for *Cat and Mouse*, the voice actress for the female lead in *Slam Dunk*, and the composer and singer of its theme song."

Hearing this, her parents exchanged a look of disbelief. ’Our daughter holds so many important positions?’

’For real?!’

"Xiaxia, I feel that when it comes to staffing, it’s best to leave specialized work to the specialists," Ji Wanqiu said, sounding concerned.

In other words, nepotism was never a good look, especially not when running a company. A business could only go far by promoting people based on merit.

’After all, Lin Yanwan is still too young and lacks real-world work experience. Even if she’s studying business administration, which makes being a financial director a good fit for her major, she’s only been enrolled for half a year. What professional skills could she have possibly learned by now?’

’Besides, composing and singing a theme song? How could she, Ji Wanqiu, her own mother, not know her daughter possessed such a talent?’

’In other words, while it was true Lin Yanwan had studied music for a time, she only played the piano. Composing involves writing lyrics and arranging the music—could she even do that? How could something as important as an anime theme song be so casually handed over to an amateur?’

’Besides, not everyone was like Jiang Xia, capable of creating a nationally acclaimed animated work at such a young age.’

"Mom, do you really think I’m that incompetent?" Lin Yanwan’s expression twitched.

Ji Wanqiu’s expression stiffened. "That’s not what I meant," she said awkwardly. "I’m just worried you’ll get in Xiaxia’s way. Besides, your schoolwork is already so demanding. Can you really handle all of that?"

Jiang Xia discreetly squeezed his wife’s hand and said with a smile, "Mom, you shouldn’t say that. Yanwan is actually far more capable than you imagine. In fact, in many respects, no one does a better job than she does. However, she does have a lot on her plate, so I’m planning to hire a dedicated person to manage the finances. That will let her focus on her creative work."

At his words, Lin Yanwan turned to look him in the eye, her own beautiful eyes shining with a brilliant light.

"Is that true?" Ji Wanqiu was still skeptical. ’Is my daughter some kind of self-taught super genius, too?’

Jiang Xia said helplessly, "Mom, I have no reason to lie to you."

Just then, Lin Gaoyuan spoke up slowly, "Wanqiu, let’s not meddle in their work. When it comes to this field, they’re definitely more professional than we are. Amateurs trying to direct experts often causes huge problems."

"You have a point. I’ll drop it, I’ll drop it." Ji Wanqiu sensibly quieted down. In her defense, her concern had simply clouded her judgment; it wasn’t as if she was trying to tell them what to do.

After lunch, his mother-in-law shooed Jiang Xia out of the kitchen, not even letting him wash the dishes.

The couple watched *Cat and Mouse* with his little sister-in-law for a while before taking her out to Joy Valley, intending to make good on their promise to Xiao Man to take her on the Ferris wheel.

"Woohoo! We have liftoff!"

As they walked down the street, Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan each took one of Xiao Man’s hands and swung her between them like a pendulum.

His little sister-in-law giggled happily. "With my sister and brother-in-law here, Xiao Man is the happiest!"

"Oh? So you’re not happy when we’re not around?" Jiang Xia teased.

"Because there’s no one to play with me. Mom and Dad are usually at work. After school, I normally go home with Teacher Xia and do my homework at my brother-in-law’s house. Then Mom comes to pick me up after she gets off work," Xiao Man said with a pitiable look.

Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan instinctively glanced at each other. Her life did sound a bit lonely.

"Don’t you worry, Xiao Man. Today, I’ll take you to the amusement park, and we can play for as long as you want!" he said, patting his little sister-in-law’s head.

"Hee hee, really?!"

"If I’m lying, I’m a puppy."

"You’re my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law is not a puppy."

"Then what does ’brother-in-law’ mean?"

"A brother-in-law is a sister’s husband, of course," Xiao Man declared, planting her hands on her hips and tilting her head up proudly, as if to say she knew it all.

"Hahaha, that’s right, that’s right."

Lin Yanwan shot Jiang Xia an exasperated glare. ’This guy. All he knows is how to tease little kids.’

’If he’s so good at it, he can try it on his own kids someday!’

The three of them hailed a taxi by the side of the road. Jiang Xia took a good, long look at the license plate. Thankfully, it wasn’t his own father again. Otherwise, he would have seriously started to wonder if Jiang Wende was stalking him.

About ten minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of the amusement park. It was the end of the year, so the park was crowded. Many parents who worked out of town had come home for the holidays and brought their children here to play, fulfilling their parental duties.

Jiang Xia bought tickets at the booth. Students got a half-price discount, and children under 1.2 meters tall were free. It wasn’t too expensive.

This wasn’t the first time for any of them. They remembered coming last April, when he and Lin Yanwan had brought his little sister-in-law to the park for a whole day. She’d been absolutely ecstatic.

Hand in hand, the three of them made their way through the crowd, heading straight for the Ferris wheel.

A lot of people were waiting in line. Jiang Xia was busy playing a riddle game with his little sister-in-law when Lin Yanwan suddenly nudged him. Pointing into the crowd ahead, she whispered:

"Honey, look over there. Isn’t that Wang Ming and Shen Ying?"