The Salted Fish Transmigrates as a Wealthy Stepdad and Goes Viral on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 24

“What is this called?”

Jian Yue was walking with Zuo Zuo while keeping an eye on their surroundings when Zuo Zuo’s eyes suddenly lit up. It looked as if he had spotted something fun. He decisively let go of his brother’s hand and ran toward it. Jian Yue glanced over and, seeing that he had not wandered far, did not interfere.

Zuo Zuo squatted beside a patch of wild grass, peering curiously at a specific spot. After watching for a while, he reached out, snapped off a stalk of the wild grass, and brought it over to show his brother, leading to the question he just asked.

Jian Yue took a casual look. It seemed like there was something on it, but he was not sure. He looked again.

“Ah! O(≧口≦)O! What is that thing in your hand!”

Jian Yue immediately scrambled backward, pointing a trembling finger at the grass in Zuo Zuo’s hand. Sitting right there was a massive green caterpillar. It was so fat that the leaf was literally bending under its weight.

“It is a baby bug. What is this baby bug called?”

Zuo Zuo tilted his head, looking at his panicked brother with confusion. He glanced at the bug in his hand and took another step toward him. The cameraman caught the perfect moment to zoom in for a close-up of the green caterpillar.

[Ah!] [Get back, get back!] [A bug! My eyes!] [The caterpillar is clearly so cute; what is there to be afraid of?] [The person above is even scarier.] [I am irreconcilable with bugs!]

“Stop! Do not come any closer!”

Seeing Zuo Zuo approaching him, Jian Yue’s face twisted in horror. He hurriedly ordered him to stop. Zuo Zuo paused, looking completely bewildered.

“Throw it away! Throw that thing in your hand away!”

Hearing this, Zuo Zuo looked at the bug in his hand and clearly hesitated. He glanced back and forth between his brother and the bug before finally choosing to toss it aside.

Jian Yue breathed a sigh of relief instantly. He strode forward, picked Zuo Zuo up, and delivered a smack to his bottom.

“What was that for!” Zuo Zuo yelped, covering his backside and glaring at his brother. Realizing that the act of being spanked had been seen by so many people, his face turned bright red with shame.

[Brother Jian, I support you this time.] [Yes, he is still young; you absolutely cannot let him off the hook.]

As Zuo Zuo threw the bug away, the audience also breathed a sigh of relief since the cameraman stopped providing close-ups of the insect. Watching Zuo Zuo get spanked, they collectively agreed that because he was young, he should not be spared the lesson.

“Have I not told you before? You cannot play with bugs.”

Zuo Zuo studied his brother’s expression and hesitantly replied, “You have.”

“Then why did you still do it?”

Zuo Zuo argued righteously, “I was not playing. I was just looking.”

Jian Yue laughed out of pure frustration. The next second, another smack landed on the boy’s bottom.

“Still trying to argue with me, are you? Have you forgotten how your hand swelled up from playing with bugs before?”

As he mentioned this, painful memories began to flood Zuo Zuo’s mind. Recalling the sensation of his palm being both swollen and itchy, his face turned pale.

Seeing his reaction, Jian Yue gave a small snort. “You remember now? So, are you going to play with them again?”

With a pale face, Zuo Zuo shook his head vigorously. “No more. I know I was wrong.”

“As long as you know you were wrong. Follow me and do not run around blindly,” Jian Yue instructed uneasily. Zuo Zuo nodded hurriedly.

Not far from them were Chu Yian and his family. Chu Yian faintly heard some noise and asked doubtfully, “What was that sound?”

“Ah? I did not hear anything.”

Tongtong pricked up her ears and listened intently. Hearing nothing, she looked at her brother strangely. Chu Yian rubbed her head and said casually, “Then I must have misheard.”

Some netizens smiled mysteriously and commented in the livestream room.

[No, you did not misheard.] [That was our Brother Jian’s high note.] [Brother Jian is truly a musician. Just listen to that high note.]

Tongtong sighed with a wrinkled face, acting like a little adult. She said, “What if we cannot find any vegetables?”

Although Chu Yian was also a bit worried, he did not intend to show it in front of Tongtong. He simply comforted her, saying, “We will find some. I recognize some edible wild vegetables.”

Hearing this, Tongtong squinted her eyes happily. “Brother really is the most amazing.”

[Compared to those two who are constantly in a love-hate struggle, it is much better here. I am almost in tears.] [How bold! You might as well just name names.] [The corpse is warm and feels very peaceful.]

“Look, what is that?” Chu Yian pointed in a certain direction. Tongtong looked where he was pointing but could only see some dense wild grass. She looked up at her brother in confusion.

Chu Yian smiled and said, “That is a type of wild vegetable. It is edible.”

Tongtong’s eyes sparkled. She started to run over cheerfully but was pulled back after only two steps. She turned around, puzzled.

Chu Yian said, “You have to be careful in a place like this.”

Having said that, he picked up a wooden stick he had found and poked around to test the area. Only after seeing there was no danger did, he approach.

[What is Brother Chu doing?] [Beating the grass to scare the snakes, you know? It is better to be safe than sorry.] [Brother Chu is so meticulous. What a hidden gem of a guy.]

“What kind of vegetable is this?” Tongtong asked, pinching a leaf.

“This is a broad-leaf shepherd’s purse. It looks like small spinach and grows flat against the ground. The base of the leaf has deep lobes, the surface is smooth, and the color is a vibrant green. It tastes quite good. Not only that, but it also has high medicinal value.”

“Because there are too many weeds here and they grow together, it is quite difficult to notice them.”

At the end, feeling in a good mood after finding food, he made a small joke. “Fortunately, I am not nearsighted. It would be very hard for a nearsighted person to find these.”

The nearsighted audience members in front of their screens felt as if they had been stabbed. Heaven knows that ever since becoming nearsighted, they have never been able to see faces clearly; they have practically become face-blind.

Tongtong clapped her hands hard. “Then let us pick them quickly!”

As she spoke, she shook the small basket in her hand, grinning from ear to ear.

“You pick here first. I am going to look nearby.” Since the cameraman was there, Chu Yian felt safe leaving Tongtong in that spot.

Tongtong had just pulled up a shepherd’s purse and was shaking the dirt off the roots. Hearing him, she waved the hand holding the vegetable. “Mhm! Goodbye, Brother!”

“Goodbye.”

After leaving Tongtong, Chu Yian circled the area a few times. He did not go very far, ensuring he stayed within her line of sight. When he returned, he had some small red fruits in his hand.

Watching Tongtong, who was still focused on pulling shepherd’s purse, Chu Yian quietly reached his hand out in front of her eyes.

Tongtong looked at the hand that had suddenly appeared and looked up. “Brother!”

Chu Yian brushed the hair away from her forehead and said with a smile, “See what I brought for you.”

Only then did Tongtong notice the small red fruits in his hand. She said in surprise, “What are these?”

“These are bubble berries. Taste them and see if you like them.”

Tongtong immediately ate one, her eyes widening. “They are sweet!”

“You like them, right?”

“Did Brother eat some?”

“I ate some just now.”

Tongtong nodded. Holding the remaining small fruits, she said hesitantly, “Can we bring some back for our younger brothers and sisters to eat?”

Chu Yian smiled. “Of course. We can pick some when we head back later. If we pick them now, they will get crushed easily.”

Tongtong: “(…)”

Seeing that he agreed, Tongtong jumped happily. She understood, of course. Bubble berries would flatten with a gentle squeeze. Since they did not know when they were heading back, picking them now would mean they would be crushed by the time they returned.

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