19, the Dainty Little Cook

(Looking up at the U8 in Dragon Rock Green)

Yang Hao, with one hand propping his chin, looked at the big guy parked by the side of the road.

This certainly couldn't be considered a small car anymore.

"Xixi is right, it's a big car."

Yang Hao nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Xixi took out a cartoon sticker from her pocket, excitedly ran to the side of the big car, "Daddy, can I stick this on there?"

"Of course you can."

Whenever possible, Yang Hao would fulfill his beloved daughter's wishes, and if there were no conditions, he would create them.

That's just how a doting father is, no helping it.

Of course, on matters of principle or values, Yang Hao would not compromise.

"Dude, are you crazy?"

"Do you know how much this car costs? And you're letting your daughter stick stuff all over it!!"

At this point, a passing bystander who was observing the car suddenly spoke up. He hadn't heard the conversation between the father and daughter earlier and had only overheard Xixi asking if she could put a cartoon sticker on the front bumper, and then Yang Hao's answer that she could.

"Bro, you can't spoil a child like that. You can tell by looking— this car is brand new. You can't just stick stuff on it willy-nilly."

Another middle-aged man in his forties also chimed in with advice.

Actually, what this brother said was correct, one indeed shouldn't randomly sticker someone else's car.

But the problem was, this wasn't someone else's car.

Yang Hao took out his car keys, pressed the unlock button casually, and then the lights of the BYD U8 began to blink...

The two bystanders exchanged glances.

Damn, the guy's the owner of the car!

"Thanks for the warning, bro, but I think we should not kill a child's creativity either."

Yang Hao said coolly, with overwhelming composure.

The middle-aged man and the other man who had spoken earlier gave an embarrassed smile.

Right, what you're saying is spot on!

It's your car, you could even smash it if you wanted to!

"Dude, does this car really cost over a million?"

The middle-aged man asked.

"It's about 1.2 million on the road," Yang Hao replied truthfully.

"When I win five million first-prize tickets in the double-color ball lottery, I'll buy one too," said the middle-aged man with a look of anticipation. He had been a lottery player for twenty years and had witnessed countless miracles, so he believed in miracles.

Five million first-prize tickets? That's nothing. Maybe there'll be ten million or twenty million in the future!

Just go for it.

After all, common folk can only rage powerlessly.

Yang Hao gave a thumbs up; the brother was quite humorous.

"Daddy, does it look good?"

By this time, Xixi had already stuck the cartoon sticker of George from "Peppa Pig" on the left side of the front bumper.

"Yeah, it looks good."

"Do you have any more stickers?" Yang Hao asked.

"Yes."

Xixi then pulled out several more from her pocket, including Peppa, Mummy Pig, and Daddy Pig.

"Shall we put the whole family on there?"

Yang Hao suggested with a chuckle.

"Yes, yes!"

Xixi nodded her head vigorously; her idea was actually very simple. Daddy had said that this car would be hers in the future, so she wanted to make a mark on it, otherwise she wouldn't be able to find it if it got lost.

So the father and daughter squatted in front of the bumper, seriously sticking the stickers of Peppa, Mummy Pig, and Daddy Pig all over it.

The middle-aged man and the younger man on the side shook their heads nonstop; they just couldn't understand the world of the rich!

A luxury car worth over a million, just being played with by a child.

Utterly extravagant!

After the father and daughter busied themselves for a while, all four stickers were affixed: George and Peppa on either side of the bumper, with Daddy Pig and Mummy Pig in the center.

The family of four neatly arranged looked much more symmetrical than a lone George.

Yay!

Xixi was delighted, celebrating with a high-five with her dad.

Yang Hao kissed his precious daughter's cheek, then lifted the little girl into the car.

The interior space of the car was large, Xixi could even stretch out her legs when sitting in the back.

But Yang Hao was thinking of buying a child safety seat; it would be safer for Xixi when going on long trips.

Oh, the life of a daughter's slave, always thinking of the daughter's needs!

Since the rented house was very close to the kindergarten, it took less than five minutes for the U8 to arrive at the old residential building.

The advantage of living in such an old community was that parking was free and based on first-come-first-serve—if one got off work early, there were plenty of parking spots in the community.

The father and daughter went upstairs.

However, as they approached the door, the aroma of cooking wafted out from inside the house.

"Hehe, Auntie is here!"

Xixi danced around excitedly; her favorite person was Dad, followed by Auntie, and then Mom.

That was because ever since she could remember, Mom had been rather fierce, and later she didn't want her and Dad anymore.

But children have an innate longing for maternal love, especially when other kids in the kindergarten would talk about their own moms, sometimes Xixi would feel very dejected. That's why she had suggested to Jiang Yuqi that morning to have Mrs. Qiqi be her mother.

"Auntie!"

"I'm back!"

Once inside, Xixi changed into her little slippers and dashed toward the kitchen.

Then Li Manni, hearing the commotion, peered out from the kitchen to stop Xixi from entering.

This familiar scene made Yang Hao's lips curl upwards involuntarily.

Life was getting better...

"Manni, did you finish work early again today?"

Yang Hao asked.

"Today I went to help migrant workers with my colleagues to defend their rights. We finished in the afternoon after leaving the labor inspection team's office."

Li Manni explained.

"I see."

Yang Hao nodded, then advised, "From now on, if you come over early from work, don't bother cooking, or just prepare something simple and vegetarian. I'm trying to lose weight, and Xixi already ate at kindergarten so she can't eat much."

"Hmm, okay."

Li Manni nodded, then went back to busying herself in the kitchen.

Soon, three dishes and a soup were laid out on the dining table.

The dishes were sweet and sour carp, "pipa" tofu, and stir-fried broccoli with shrimp.

The soup was winter melon and pork rib soup.

Just as lavish as the day before.

Yang Hao looked at the three dishes and soup on the dining table, all appealing in color, aroma, and taste. Then he looked at Li Manni, who was wearing a pink apron with a cartoon pattern, her long hair tied in a high ponytail for convenience while cooking, meticulous beads of sweat on her smooth forehead catching the glow of the sunset through the window, casting a sparkling light.

Her smile was as warm as a spring breeze, and even the slightly loose apron could not conceal her graceful curves.

Such a charming little cook!

Yang Hao couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Brother-in-law, didn't you go to deliver takeout today?"

While Yang Hao was a bit lost in his admiration, Li Manni's voice broke the spell, her cheeks slightly reddened, likely from sensing his rather intense gaze.

"Uh, changed jobs."

Yang Hao snapped back to reality and casually replied.

"What job is it?" Li Manni asked curiously.

"Sort of starting a business, with a friend," Yang Hao replied.

"Still opening a hot pot restaurant?"

Although Li Manni wouldn't look down on Yang Hao's status as a deliveryman, she was naturally very supportive and happy for her brother-in-law if he wanted to start anew.

"No, not that."

"A friend started a fitness center; I'm just helping out."

"Let's eat, you've been busy for half a day."

Yang Hao, not wanting to continue the topic of starting up, picked up an empty bowl to serve Xixi some soup.

"Daddy, I want to eat ribs, four of them."

Because Xixi had already eaten at kindergarten, Yang Hao only served her two ribs, but the little foodie wasn't satisfied.

"Alright, four then."

"But if you can't finish them, don't force yourself."

While adding two more ribs, Yang Hao reminded her again.

"Mhm mhm."

Xixi nodded eagerly, but in her little foodie heart, she was already planning to eat two more later.

In fact, Yang Hao was really hungry, especially with the delicious-looking three dishes and one soup on the table. But for the sake of the system's task and that hefty reward of one hundred thousand for a pound, he restrained himself, eating only vegetables and skipping the rice.

Luckily, the foods Li Manni cooked today were all very suitable for a fat-reduction diet, with ingredients like broccoli, shrimp, and carp being common in fat-loss meals. Even the tofu is actually a low-fat food.

Wait, this wasn't a coincidence.

Yang Hao suddenly looked up at Li Manni, "Did you choose these ingredients because I'm trying to lose weight?"

"Yeah."

Li Manni nodded, quietly saying, "You won't gain weight eating these during a fat-reduction phase, and they'll still make you feel full."

"You've worked hard."

A warmth spread in Yang Hao's heart. She had taken to heart his offhand remark about wanting to lose weight the day before.

Damn, who knows which bastard will benefit from this in the future!

Moved, Yang Hao couldn't help but silently lament once more.