Chapter 718 - 370: Hulu Isn’t as Smart as Me (2)

Chapter 718: Chapter 370: Hulu Isn’t as Smart as Me (2)

"I know," Liu Yunlan said with a nod. "It just makes me so angry to hear it. For a man his age to be spinning yarns for a little kid... I’ve never seen anything like it."

Juhua was speechless as well. She asked Li Jingwen, "Did you tell your parents what he said?"

Li Jingwen blinked a few times and nodded. "My mom said the Third Grand-Uncle is wrong, and my dad said Hulu is smart, too."

Juhua asked, perplexed, "Then why are you still saying it? Don’t you listen to your parents?" She burped the well-fed Cong and straightened her own jacket.

Pu Pao quickly came over and took Cong. She paced around the room, gently patting the baby’s back to keep her from spitting up.

Li Jingwen fell silent. He seemed to be counting on his fingers, thinking for a long while before looking up at Juhua. "I just *am* smarter than Hulu, and my little brother is more capable than Banli." He finished by puffing out his small chest, as if to show he wasn’t listening to his mother because this was what he truly believed.

Juhua burst out laughing. ’This kid is certainly confident!’

Just then, Qingmu and Huai Zi came in from outside. Qingmu said to Li Jingwen, "You think you’re smarter than my Hulu? I don’t see it. Hulu, come here. Daddy’s going to write a character for you to read. Li Jingwen, if you can read it too, then I’ll admit you’re smarter than Hulu. If you can’t... hmph, hmph... then you must be the dumb one."

After he spoke, he saw Huai Zi take Cong from Pu Pao, so he asked Pu Pao to fetch a piece of charcoal from the kitchen. He wrote the character for "Zheng" on the floor and first asked Li Jingwen, "Do you know how to read this?"

Li Jingwen was dumbfounded. He hadn’t started school yet, and his parents could only recognize their own names. Of course they wouldn’t have taught him the character for "Zheng." If anything, they would have taught him "Li."

Little Hulu often played this character-guessing game with his father. The moment Qingmu started writing, he scooted closer. He was about to shout out the answer as soon as it was finished, but Qingmu stopped him to ask Li Jingwen first.

When Li Jingwen couldn’t answer, Qingmu turned to his son. "Hulu, what character is this?"

Little Hulu immediately shouted triumphantly, "Zheng! Dad, Zheng Qingmu!" He then turned to Juhua. "Auntie, Zheng Juhua!" Then he turned toward the main gate and the courtyard. "Grandpa, Zheng Changhe!"

See? What a show-off!

He did this so often it had become second nature. If Qingmu were to write the character for "Liu," he would immediately call out, "Mom, Liu Yunlan," without a moment’s hesitation. He couldn’t write the characters, of course, but he could recognize their shapes as easily as he could tell a dog from a cat.

Qingmu, still squatting on the ground, grinned victoriously at Li Jingwen. "So? My Hulu is smart, isn’t he?"

Li Jingwen stood there, about eye-level with the squatting Qingmu. The two stared at each other, big eyes meeting small. He watched Hulu’s father gloat, feeling wronged. He sensed something was off but didn’t know how to put it into words, so he just pouted and sulked in silence.

Huai Zi, Juhua, and the others were bent over with laughter. Liu Yunlan shot Qingmu a look; ’He’s a grown man acting just like a child,’ she thought. ’This isn’t like him at all.’

Huai Zi laughed. "You and your son are just ganging up on poor Li Jingwen. If his father, Changming, were here and asked about something *his* son knows, what would you do then?"

Being a little older, Li Jingwen immediately latched onto this. "I’ll go get my dad! My dad is amazing! He even helped me catch a little sparrow last night!"

Qingmu shot him a disdainful look. "Anyone can catch a sparrow. Your Uncle Huai Zi and I both know how."

Li Jingwen got flustered. Forgetting about the dads, he went back to comparing the sons—he was convinced he was better than Hulu. He retorted, "Hulu still pees the bed! I stopped wetting the bed a long time ago."

Seeing the little boy getting worked up, Qingmu fought back a smile. "Nonsense! My Hulu stopped wetting the bed ages ago. He can hold it for a long time; we don’t even need to change his diaper. Not like that Banli, who goes through countless diapers a day. He’s a leaky bucket—everything he eats just comes right out. You were definitely still wetting the bed when you were Hulu’s age. Go ask your parents if you don’t believe me."

Li Jingwen had only just recently stopped wetting the bed, so of course, he didn’t need to ask his mom. His face flushed red, and he lowered his head in silence.

Huai Zi, holding his daughter, cried out, "Hey! My Banli didn’t do anything to you! Why are you airing his dirty laundry? Our Banli is so well-behaved, and his smile is so charming. What’s the big deal if he pees a few times? When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. You can’t expect a living person to hold it in until they burst!"

Juhua watched her husband and brother with amusement. A playful mood suddenly struck her, and she said to Qingmu, "That just proves Banli is more hardworking than Hulu."

Seeing her defending her son with such a straight face, Qingmu asked in astonishment, "How is Banli more hardworking? Oh, right. Hardworking at peeing!"

Juhua ignored her brother’s mocking look and continued, "Pee and poop are waste products, just like trash in the house. You have to take a broom and sweep it out several times a day, or else you can’t even walk inside. Hulu tries to save himself the trouble by holding it in, so he only ’sweeps’ three times a day. Our Banli ’sweeps’ six times a day. Now, you tell me, who’s more hardworking?"

At first, Qingmu’s eyes went wide. Then, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, collapsing onto the floor. Hulu, looking completely baffled, rushed forward. He grabbed one of Qingmu’s large hands with both of his and tried with all his might to pull his father back up.

Huai Zi started roaring with laughter too. This made little Cong, cradled in his arms, think her father was playing with her, and she let out a clear, tinkling laugh of her own. This was a rare occurrence, so Huai Zi grinned from ear to ear and laughed even harder.

Liu Yunlan and Mrs. Wang couldn’t help but chuckle. And though Li Jingwen didn’t know why everyone was laughing, he could tell they weren’t laughing at him, so he joined in with a goofy grin.