Xavier was the same. He went out to play with everyone, not saying much, but when it was time to do something, he didn't need to be called, he would proactively help. Harvey's cleverness was perhaps due to growing up with Xavier, being influenced by him.
Cui Cui and Wei Wei were not as quick to react in this regard, but after seeing Harvey return with a small bundle of firewood, Cui Cui quickly caught on.
If they wanted to start a fire, they needed firewood!
Cui Cui had also survived on Earth with her mother, so she knew what kind of firewood was good for burning. She quickly went out and joined Harvey in gathering firewood.
Wei Wei, realizing what her siblings were doing, wanted to help with her little legs, but Lu Wanqing held her back.
"Wei Wei, you can't go. You're too young, be careful you don't fall," Lu Wanqing said.
A child over one year old, although already walking, was so small that any patch of grass in the forest could swallow her. Lu Wanqing didn't dare to let Wei Wei go out. What if she wandered into a pile of grass and they couldn't find her?
"Mom, I want to go see!" Wei Wei was eleven years old psychologically, not a real one-year-old. Seeing everyone busy in the forest, she couldn't go and was anxious.
Lu Wanqing said helplessly, "You really can't go."
"I'll carry her," Lu Yang said, walking over at this moment.
Lu Wanqing and Wei Wei both looked at Lu Yang, puzzled.
Lu Yang reached out, picked up Wei Wei, and then walked towards the forest.
Lu Wanqing immediately understood. Third Brother was indulging Wei Wei. Since they were out playing, she should have some sense of participation. Although Wei Wei couldn't really do any work, letting her experience it would make the trip feel better.
In the forest, Lu Yang carried Wei Wei. When he saw suitable firewood, he would put the little one down and let her pick it up with her small hands.
Wei Wei was indeed happy. Picking up a few sticks of firewood made her very pleased.
There was plenty of dry firewood in the forest, and they soon collected a lot, enough to cook a meal.
Lu Wanqing used the firewood to start a fire, built a bonfire, and then placed the skewers of meat they had already prepared over the flames, beginning to roast them.
Everyone gathered around the bonfire, watching the roasting meat in the center expectantly. As time passed, a rich aroma wafted from the roasted meat, making everyone's taste buds tingle.
When the roasted meat was ready, everyone couldn't resist. They wanted to eat!
Lu Wanqing was the first to give a skewer to the greedy Harvey, then to Cui Cui, then to Xavier, then to Third Brother, Xiao Bao, and finally herself.
The roasted meat was very hot and couldn't be eaten directly. It had to cool down a bit to be delicious.
They blew on the meat, trying to cool it, took a secret bite while the meat wasn't "paying attention," then blew again, and took another secret bite when the meat wasn't "looking."
Besides the roasted meat, there were also crabs, some roasted, some steamed. They had caught a lot, so Lu Wanqing simply prepared them in different ways.
By the time everyone had eaten their fill, it was getting late. After resting, it was time to go home.
As they left, Harvey and Cui Cui were even a little reluctant to leave, looking at the river below.
Cui Cui said, "Mommy, can I bring Wei Xingzhou here to play next time?"
"Of course," Lu Wanqing replied with a smile.
Cui Cui was happy and said, "Thank you, Mommy."
After speaking, Cui Cui remembered something and quickly turned to look at "His Majesty Dad" beside her, saying again, "Thank you, His Majesty Dad, too."
Lu Yang lowered his gaze to the child, smiled tenderly, and agreed, "Mm."
On this trip, Cui Cui also took many photos and videos. When they returned by aircraft, Cui Cui sent a message to Wei Xingzhou through her optical computer.
At the Wei family's house, Wei Xingzhou had just had a fight with his parents and was very annoyed. Suddenly, his optical computer rang with a special message notification sound. This was a custom ringtone he had set for Cui Cui. His eyes lit up, and his mood immediately improved. He quickly opened his optical computer to see the message from Cui Cui.
"Wei Xingzhou! Your father and I are talking to you!" Wei Xingzhou's mother yelled angrily when her son ignored her.
Wei Xingzhou didn't even look up, continuing to look at the photos.
Since Cui Cui had gone to the Empire, he couldn't be by her side every day, which made Wei Xingzhou very upset. However, while upset, he also knew that Cui Cui was growing up day by day. She wasn't the little baby she used to be. He couldn't follow her all the time like before. He had to let her leave him so that Cui Cui would grow up and mature slowly.
"Mom, Cui Cui sent photos. She went fishing for crabs with Lu Wanqing. Cui Cui is super amazing, she caught so many crabs!" After looking at the photos, Wei Xingzhou looked up and proudly bragged to his mother.
Wei Xingzhou's mother: "???"
"Cui Cui sent a message? Let me see!" Wei Xingzhou's father reacted immediately and excitedly, running over.
Wei Xingzhou's mother also reacted. She couldn't help but stretch her head to look at Wei Xingzhou's optical computer, but... Wei Xingzhou had set permissions, so they couldn't see it at all.
Wei Xingzhou saw his parents' expressions and deliberately didn't show them Cui Cui's photos. He snorted and said, "Don't even think about inheriting the family business. I'm not interested."
"You!" Wei Xingzhou's mother trembled with anger. She scolded, "Wei Xingzhou, you are no longer an eighteen-year-old child. You've been out playing for so many years, and we've indulged you for so many years. It's time you became sensible!"
Wei Xingzhou looked at them and said with a grin, "If you have nothing else, I'll be going. I have a commercial to shoot in a few days, and after that, I'm going to the Empire to see Cui Cui!"
Saying that, Wei Xingzhou left, his steps showing no hesitation.
"Wei Xingzhou!" Wei Xingzhou's mother trembled with anger.
"Alright, stop shouting," Wei Xingzhou's father sighed softly and turned to his wife, Qin Kexin, saying.
The anger on Qin Kexin's face slowly turned into worry.
Wei Qingshan, Wei Xingzhou's father, also had no smile on his face.
"Kexin, why don't we bring Cui Cui back?" Wei Qingshan said slowly after a long silence.
Qin Kexin frowned. "Cui Cui... it's a shame she's not our family's child."
Wei Qingshan raised his eyelids and looked at his wife. He said, "Actually, I think there's no need to be so hung up on blood ties. Although the blood flowing in Cui Cui's body isn't ours, she's genuinely raised by us with our own hands."
"You know Cui Cui. If she studies hard, she'll have no problem managing the Wei family in the future."
Qin Kexin was unhappy. "What about Sisi then?"
"Wei Qingshan, Sisi has our family's blood. She is our child. She suffered so much outside all those years. There's no reason for her to continue to be wronged after returning to our home," Qin Kexin said.