"No, you can play for another hour after lunch, but absolutely not now. If you keep pestering, you won't even get that hour," she said.
Realizing her mother was not joking, Da Bao reacted swiftly, releasing his grip on Feng Jin and standing steadily. His small head drooped in disappointment.
An hour of playtime was better than nothing. Da Bao's ability to self-console was exceptional; he had thoroughly thought it through in a short time.
The gloom that had arisen from Feng Jin confiscating the Rubik's Cube vanished completely, leaving no trace of sadness. A smile of excitement reappeared on his face.
"Mom, can I eat some pastries then?"
Since he couldn't play with the Rubik's Cube, he figured he should at least be allowed to eat pastries. Da Bao cautiously approached Feng Jin, his desire for delicious pastries already awakened.
Feng Jin lowered her eyes and looked at Da Bao, who was practically drooling. She couldn't help but chuckle. This little fellow was truly gluttonous. If he was denied both playtime and pastries, he might very well burst into tears on the spot.
"I'll take you to the small kitchen to see what new pastries have been made."
Ultimately, Feng Jin agreed to take Da Bao to see the pastries, as she couldn't let the child go hungry.
As they left, Feng Jin glanced reassuringly at Er Bao, who was still fast asleep on the bed. She tiptoed and carefully tucked the blankets in before taking Da Bao out. They moved quickly, hoping to return before Er Bao woke up.
Upon entering the small kitchen, Da Bao followed the enticing aroma to the pastries. He immediately grabbed one and popped it into his mouth before selecting a few more favorites to take back.
"Who is this soup for?" Feng Jin asked, glancing at the soup that had been prepared and was kept warm in a purple clay pot on the table.
"To answer the young madam, this soup is for the second young master."
"Ling Muzhu... he needs this soup..." Feng Jin asked, slightly incredulous. The soup contained ingredients like goji berries, ginseng, and fleeceflower root, all of which enriched the blood and invigorated the qi. It was even made with a black chicken...
What was wrong with Ling Muzhu's health? Was he so depleted that he needed such urgent tonics? Little did he know, introducing too many tonics so hastily would only worsen his already weakened state if he were indeed depleted. Such a body, unable to absorb nourishment, would find these potent tonics equivalent to adding insult to injury.
Fortunately, she had seen it today, and she couldn't let Ling Muzhu continue to eat such things indiscriminately.
"How many days has the second young master been having this soup?"
He was already so grown, yet he still didn't know how to care for himself, not even knowing what he should and shouldn't eat. How could she possibly feel at ease with him like this?
"The second young master ordered the small kitchen to make it yesterday. It was just finished, and we were about to send it to him when you arrived, young madam," the kitchen manager respectfully replied, standing beside Feng Jin.
"Leave it here, I'll take it to Muzhu myself."
With that, Feng Jin picked up the soup and went to deliver it to Ling Muzhu personally.
Her gaze fell on Da Bao, who was following closely behind. Feng Jin calmly instructed him, "You go back to your room by yourself. Don't run around. Wait for me to come back, do you understand?"
Da Bao nodded obediently, "I understand, Mom. I won't run around."
If his mother wasn't going back with him, he'd have a chance to sneak back and play with the Rubik's Cube. This was simply wonderful! Da Bao was eagerly anticipating Feng Jin's swift departure.
"Then I'm leaving now. I'll come find you as soon as I'm done," Feng Jin said.
She reached out to ruffle Da Bao's hair, gave him a few more reassuring instructions, and then walked away.
As soon as his mother's figure completely disappeared from sight, Da Bao was so ecstatic he nearly jumped for joy. Excellent! His mother was gone, and no one was supervising him anymore. He could finally play with the Rubik's Cube to his heart's content.
Da Bao's feet seemed to be fitted with the Wind Fire Wheels as he sped back to the room.
When Er Bao woke up and was about to get out of bed to wash up, the door was forcefully pushed open from the outside. Da Bao darted to the chair, opened the box on the table, and took out a colorful, square object, holding it in his hands and playing with it with great fondness.
"What are you playing with?"
Er Bao, having never seen such a thing, was very curious. The brothers, rarely together, squeezed in to look. As Er Bao reached out to touch it, Da Bao immediately slapped his hand.
"Mom gave this to me. Go get yours from the box!"
Da Bao clutched the Rubik's Cube tightly, refusing to let Er Bao touch it. This was his treasure, and he certainly wouldn't let Er Bao break it.
"So stingy!" Er Bao said disdainfully. He bent his head to look into the box and indeed found an identical one inside.
Driven by curiosity, Er Bao took the item out of the box. Once in his hands, he realized it was made of wood. Although the craftsmanship was a bit rough, it looked very ingenious. It was commendable that his mother could create something like this.
"Did Mom send this?"
"How did you know?" Da Bao asked, slightly surprised. Er Bao had been asleep; how could he know their mother had sent it?
"Only Mom would make such strange and peculiar things. Of course, I didn't need to guess."
Besides their mother, no one else could make these things. It was such a simple deduction that anyone could figure it out.
Er Bao's face showed a look of disdain. Only Da Bao, with his dull mind, wouldn't understand.
"Hmph, you think you're so clever!" Da Bao snorted and ignored Er Bao, focusing all his attention on the Rubik's Cube. He was determined to master this little thing today.
Er Bao watched Da Bao's hands twisting the Rubik's Cube. After watching for a while, he could roughly figure out how it worked.
Mimicking Da Bao's movements, he soon grasped the essence of it.
"You can play with it?" Da Bao glanced at Er Bao, seeing him already playing with considerable skill, and asked tentatively.
"I don't quite understand it yet."
He knew that the small wooden blocks on the faces could move, but he wasn't entirely sure how it was played.
"I knew you wouldn't understand. Let your brother teach you then."