SFBF CH118.1

Chapter 118 Extra 1: “Genius Baby Camp”

The afternoon gathering time arrived quickly.

Perhaps because they wanted to give every family time to adjust on the first day, the activities arranged by the production team weren’t difficult.

The afternoon’s content consisted of a competition. Each time a family won, they could send representatives into the vegetable garden to harvest vegetables.

The rules were simple, but the director described the stakes with a highly dramatic flair—

“The vegetables you harvest will be what we cook for dinner tonight. In other words, whether you all continue eating snacks tonight or actually get to eat the vegetables you picked depends entirely on this afternoon’s competition.”

No matter how dramatic his tone was, Shen Qing still couldn’t suppress a yawn after hearing it. Well, worst comes to worst, we’ll just keep eating snacks tonight.

Snacks weren’t completely devoid of nutrition anyway. Furthermore, Aunt Zhang had packed healthy children’s snacks with clean ingredient lists for him; bingeing on them wouldn’t hurt. Besides, it was just for one day…

Whether adults or kids, they could just tough it out.

However, seeing the other families gearing up and eager to try, Shen Qing gave the director face and didn’t act too out of sync.

Feigning excitement, he asked Duoduo and Ao-zai by his legs, “Do you have the confidence to pick lots of vegetables?”

The energetic little Ao-zai immediately clenched his tiny fists and bounced up: “I do!”

Duoduo didn’t say yes, nor did he say no.

But catching the look in this baby’s eyes, Shen Qing suddenly felt things might not be so simple.

…That profound gaze carrying immense certainty and a sharp gleam… that had to be the legendary super-strong competitive drive, right?!

The competition began quickly.

The production team had designed a series of game segments. The winning or highest-scoring family in each segment could go to the garden to pick vegetables. They could choose the types of vegetables themselves, but the haul would be weighed together afterward, and the exact amount they could take away was linked to their ranking.

The highest-scoring family could take away the most weight in vegetables, and so on.

The lowest-ranking family in each segment couldn’t go pick vegetables at all.

The first segment was a sports competition, featuring classic events like the three-legged race, kicking shuttlecocks, and double Dutch.

Each family could send any two representatives to compete. Initially, Shen Qing had planned to compete himself. Duoduo had probably encountered these games from his childhood during P.E. classes, but Ao-zai, who had always been kept at home, definitely hadn’t played them.

To his surprise, when it was Family No. 4’s turn, Ao-zai volunteered to compete.

His reason was simple. Opening his big eyes, Ao-zai stated confidently, “Cub has watched and learned it!”

Shen Qing nodded immediately. “Alright then, Ao-zai goes! My babies are truly amazing!”

They really save this old father so much worry.

Shen Qing smiled, flashing a row of white teeth, his face full of joy and gratification.

[Hahaha why does Teacher Shen’s expression look like he’s saying: ‘Oh yeah, successfully slacked off’]

[Agreed, how does Teacher Shen manage to look so delicate and spirited, yet exude such a lazy aura!]

[Sometimes ‘watching and learning’ just means your eyes get it. Take the three-legged race; a kid who hasn’t actually tried it might really not understand it. Teacher Shen is really laid-back, isn’t he afraid of losing?]

[It doesn’t matter, right? The kids from Family 1 and 3 haven’t played it either. In this kind of competition, the kids’ ages and sizes are all different, so it’s inherently unfair. It’s just for fun, if they lose, they lose.]

In the three-legged race segment, both Family No. 1 and Family No. 3 lost.

Family No. 1 sent the younger twin, He Rui, to partner with his mother. The older brother, He Jia, was the so-called genius baby piano player who reportedly started playing at age three.

To protect the older brother’s hands, the younger brother He Rui took on all sports and athletic activities like this.

But these twin brothers were only five and a half this year and hadn’t encountered this type of game before.

Despite practicing beforehand, He Rui’s performance was terrible.

Mother He seemed to be a strict mother. Due to He Rui’s failure, her expression wasn’t great, though she didn’t say anything.

As for Family No. 4’s little An Rong losing, nearly everyone had anticipated it.

An Rong was simply too small, and his coordination with his mother was poor. Plus, he had never played this game, so Family No. 3 indeed ranked last.

But when little An Rong, led by his mother, crawled, rolled, and stumbled his way across the finish line, both the audience and the crew on site were deeply moved.

At first, they were amused by his adorable, squirrel-like scrambling.

Later, they were touched by how little An Rong never gave up, reaching the finish line even with a dirty face.

After Family No. 3 finished, it was Family No. 4’s turn.

This was when Ao-zai volunteered to compete.

While the bullet comments were still debating whether Shen Qing sending two cubs to compete would actually work, Ao-zai had already pattered over to check on little An Rong while the staff set up.

An Rong was still as quiet as ever, currently crouching on the ground panting with a dirty little face, but he was grinning foolishly.

He had no competitive drive and didn’t even understand competition. He had simply heard his mother say they needed to finish the course, so his goal became just finishing the course.

So, despite having the slowest time and falling a few times, little An Rong was still happy.

Seeing Ao-zai run over, the quiet An Rong finally let out a relatively loud sound: “Gege!”

Being called ‘Gege’ so loudly for the first time, Ao-zai couldn’t help but feel a bit puffed up.

He had actually run over to ask for tips on the three-legged race… Family No. 1’s He Rui hadn’t run well and had been glared at by his mother, so he was currently hiding off-camera crying, and Ao-zai couldn’t find him.

Number Two… was Sister Ke-ke, so never mind her!

Even though Sister Ke-ke partnered with her dad and was super fast, clearly a veteran player.

But forget it, forget it.

Ao-zai couldn’t avoid her fast enough!

Ultimately, he could only run to little An Rong.

But little An Rong couldn’t offer any tips either. Unable to answer Ao-Gege’s question well, he looked blank, disappointment in his eyes.

“It’s okay.”

Ao-zai, who was now a big brother, crouched down to comfort the younger brother.

Ao-zai suddenly realized he was probably just there to praise the younger brother. He had seen the entire process of little An Rong completing the task and thought this younger brother was amazing, which was why he wanted to come over and see him.

As for why he hadn’t just admitted he was there to see him in the first place… Ao-zai scratched his round ear with a chubby hand; he couldn’t be bothered to figure it out anymore.

Seeing An Rong looking panicked and disappointed, the crouching Ao-zai gave little An Rong a big thumbs-up and said, “You are super awesome!”

“…R-really?” An Rong’s voice was still timid. Looking at Ao-zai with big, wet, sparkling eyes, he seemed even softer.

Compared to him, Ao-zai’s milky voice sounded remarkably strong and powerful.

Ao-zai patted An Rong’s shoulder: “Tewally!”

[Oh my god, my Little Young Master is such a warm guy!]

[I really couldn’t tell Ao-zai was this smooth at such a young age, hahaha]

[On a certain day in a certain month of 202x, the two little squirrels officially formed an alliance… Let’s just call it the Squirrel Alliance.]

After the staff cleared the area, it was Duoduo and Ao-zai’s turn to take the field.

The feet of the two brothers, wearing matching little shoes, were tied together. Duoduo quietly said a few words to Ao-zai.

What happened next was different from what the bullet comments had said about their “eyes getting it.” As soon as the director gave the start signal, the tied-together brothers shot out like an arrow.

Duoduo had grown quite a bit recently and had long legs. Even though he was still slim, his movements were incredibly sharp.

Ao-zai matched his brother’s movements, doing exactly as he was told. After accurately taking the first step, he quickly grasped the rhythm.

And although he was small, his strides were large. When his strides weren’t long enough, he made up for it by bouncing and hopping.

Because Duoduo often walked holding the bouncing and hopping Ao-zai’s hand, he was already used to Ao-zai’s rhythm. Ultimately, the two brothers were incredibly fast, dashing straight to the finish line beyond everyone’s expectations.

[Looking at it this way, Teacher Shen really didn’t need to compete. When kids get agile, adults can’t even keep up.]

[I think Duoduo is so smart, and Ao-zai is so smart too!]

Ao-zai, who had reached the finish line, still found it fun. He continued to bounce and hop for a while, taking a victory lap around the field with his brother.

Every camera captured the brothers—one cool and handsome, the other lively and adorkable. Family No. 4’s popularity continued to soar.

Family No. 5 followed suit, sending the Fu twin sisters to run.

But because the twin sisters couldn’t agree at first, and one fell, costing them some time, their run took a bit longer. In the end, Family No. 4, who the audience hadn’t favored initially, became the dark horse, taking second place with a speed second only to Song Yuke and her father.

In the next two events, kicking shuttlecocks and double Dutch, relying on Gu Duo’s smarts and calmness, along with Ao-zai learning on the fly, Family No. 4 surprisingly placed again.

As the family with the second-highest overall score, Shen Qing and his team earned the right to go to the vegetable garden.

The total weight of vegetables they could pick was two kilograms.

The game rules stipulated that the winning family could only send two people into the field. Duoduo instinctively wanted to yield the opportunity to his Little Dad and younger brother, but Shen Qing stated that since Duoduo and Ao-zai had won the opportunity, Duoduo and Ao-zai should be the ones to go.

Duoduo thought about it and nodded in agreement.

However, looking at Ao-zai, whose eyes were wide and eager, and the deeply profound Duoduo, Shen Qing couldn’t help but wonder: did the cubs even recognize vegetables? And did they know how to pick them?

…Let alone Duoduo and Ao-zai, even Shen Qing had zero experience picking vegetables in a garden!

On second thought, it was all just for fun anyway… Sticking to his principle that having no vegetables to eat didn’t matter, Shen Qing didn’t instruct the cubs on what to pick either.

He simply told the cubs not to pick anything they didn’t want, not to run around and ruin the farmer uncles’ vegetable patches, and to be obedient.

To ensure the guests only picked vegetables normally and didn’t destroy the fields, the production team arranged for people to lead the guests into the garden and teach them how to pick the crops.

But some kids were hard to discipline. Last season, a bratty kid had clashed with a farmer, resulting in a very bad impression and negative feedback.

Therefore, veteran fans of the show couldn’t help but raise doubts: [Sending only two kids into the garden without an adult? Will that work?]

Shen Qing’s fans instinctively broke into a sweat as well.

They knew Duoduo and Ao-zai were very sensible. But the cubs were still too young, and having never participated in farming, they might not understand the principle that every grain costs hard work.

Furthermore, this was a live broadcast. If they ruined the garden out of ignorance or didn’t realize the severity of the problem, wouldn’t the good reputation Teacher Shen had painstakingly built instantly collapse…

The bullet comments rolled furiously, all reminding Shen Qing to go too, or at least give a few more instructions!

Meanwhile, Shen Qing’s haters were also boiling with excitement, just waiting for Shen Qing’s cubs to ruin the garden so they could screen-record it and make a huge fuss!

However, the truth was that both Duoduo and Ao-zai were incredibly well-behaved… After entering the garden, their conduct was even more rigorous than an adult’s.

Gu Duo was a rigorous person to begin with. Knowing there was a camera following them, he demanded of himself not to make even the slightest mistake.

Although he had never intended to ruin the garden, having never walked on farmland before, he wouldn’t act overconfident. If he didn’t know where to walk, he would ask the farmer uncle leading the way where he should step, instinctively avoiding every single plant.

If he didn’t know what could be dug up and what couldn’t, he would ask, waiting for the farmer uncle to demonstrate and explain before doing it himself.

As for Ao-zai, he actually didn’t need any instructions from his Little Dad and brother.

Ao-zai was the one who cherished animals and plants the most!

Ever since Little Dad agreed to keep Tian-tian and Yuan-yuan, and explicitly fenced off an area for them to roam freely, Ao-zai vaguely understood the principle that trampling could harm plants.

Before this, unless it was too hot, Ao-zai played in their home garden every single day.

Even though their home garden had flowers planted by hired professionals and not vegetables, to Ao-zai, they still needed to be cherished.

So how could he ever hurt the cute little plants?

In the farmland, Ao-zai walked even more carefully than his brother.

But he just avoided stepping on the plants; Ao-zai didn’t feel restricted here at all. On the contrary, because he absolutely loved it here, from the moment he entered the farmland, he truly acted like a little squirrel dropped into a pile of pinecones—looking here, touching there, occasionally accompanied by exaggerated little expressions like “Wowee.”

The cameraman smoothly recorded all his reactions.

This earned a barrage of fierce praise from the live stream audience.

Some plants’ stems and vines were so tall they completely swallowed the two brothers.

When the cameraman held up the camera and relocated the cubs, he found Ao-zai crouching there, giggling.

He had found a chubby little bird!

Encountering the little bird, he didn’t try to scare or chase it away. Instead, he crouched on the ridge to the side, watching it from a distance, as if terrified of startling it.

With wide, round eyes, Ao-zai locked gazes with the chubby, pecking bird.

At this time, Gu Duo simply stood beside him and waited.

Even when leaves brushed against the Eldest Young Master’s face, he only raised a hand to slowly push them away, while continuing to ask the farmer uncle questions.

The farmer uncle assigned to lead the cubs into the garden was also quite fond of these two clean, well-behaved, and adorable cubs, explaining all their questions with great care.

[These two brothers are the real crouching tigers and hidden dragons (in a good way), right? How are they so harmonious and loving? This definitely isn’t an act.]

[So polite! Do such well-behaved cubs actually exist in this world!]

The haters, who had planned to find an opportunity to smear Shen Qing, saw their hopes dashed again.

Shen Qing’s die-hard fans felt completely vindicated: The cubs our wifey raised are just this cultivated and patient. Face slapped, huh? Let’s see what you haters can possibly say now!

Fan club group chat:

[But seriously, wifey’s cubs truly bring him honor and save him so much worry. No wonder the first reality show Qing-qing joined after his resurgence is a parenting show haha]

[+1, to be fair, Qing-qing didn’t lift a finger this round. He just sat there eating watermelon the whole time hahaha! His main goal is slacking off, he couldn’t even be bothered to care what the cubs picked!]

[What are you talking about? Wifey is clearly staying clear-headed and lying flat. This is called ‘great wisdom appearing as foolishness’ (doge)]

[I bet when the main episode is edited, this will definitely be a running gag, like Qing-qing being completely carried by his kids the whole time.]

[The key is that the cubs shine, maximizing the variety show effect, so no one will focus on Qing-qing and accuse him of slacking off.]

[Qing-qing: My cubs are awesome!]

[Wuu wuu wuu, I’m getting more and more jealous that Qing-qing has such cubs]

Due to the overall schedule, the time the cubs could spend in the garden was limited.

Staff members soon came over to urge them to hurry.

“You must return within the designated time, otherwise it will be deemed invalid, and the vegetables you picked can’t be taken away.”

Hearing the prompt, Duoduo urged Ao-zai to hurry up, while he himself quickly picked some nearby string beans, peppers, and tomatoes.

Ao-zai gave an “Ao!” of acknowledgment and began digging in the dirt nearby.

When there was only one minute left, Duoduo and Ao-zai made it back to the garden gate.

Gu Duo was still in his refreshing, clean outfit, though his shoes were a bit dirty.

Little Ao-zai, on the other hand, looked like he had rolled in the dirt. Not only were his clothes dirty, but even his face was covered in a layer of dust.

The cutest part was that, probably because time was running out, Ao-zai had rushed out hugging two large carrots, instead of putting them in his brother’s basket.

Seeing this scene, Shen Qing, who couldn’t see the live broadcast and didn’t know what had happened, doubled over with laughter.

The audience, having already been melted by Ao-zai’s furious carrot-digging actions earlier, now watched the chubby cub hugging the carrots, panting heavily while grinning foolishly at the camera, and filled the screen with rolling praises.

Shen Qing was truly laughing uncontrollably too, but not because Ao-zai was cute.

It was because…

“Do you know what you dug up?” he asked little Ao-zai.

“What is it?” Ao-zai tilted his head, still clutching the two carrots tightly in his hands.

Shen Qing: “It’s… it’s Ao-zai’s favorite ca-ca-carrots!”

Ao-zai: “…Da?”

Hearing the answer, Ao-zai froze completely.

“…Ao-zai, hates ca-ca-carrots the most!”

The stunned Ao-zai’s eyes widened completely, and the carrots in his hands dropped straight to the ground.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Shen Qing, still doubled over in laughter, simply bent down, picked up the carrots, and stated: “One day you will fall in love with it… after all, you two are destined for each other hahaha.”

Because Ao-zai had always hated carrots and would pick them out every time he ate, Aunt Zhang stopped intentionally cooking them.

Ao-zai did eat carrot juice cake and carrot fruit puree very happily.

But worried the cub wouldn’t eat it, Grandma Zhang never mentioned which foods contained carrots, so Ao-zai didn’t know.

After all this time, Ao-zai still hadn’t seen what a real carrot actually looked like.

Who knew that whatever he feared would come true—he actually huffed and puffed and pulled out two carrots!

Carrots were buried in the ground and were definitely harder to harvest than plants growing on vines.

Shen Qing couldn’t wait to watch the live broadcast replay to see exactly how his little cub managed to pull those two carrots out!

The funniest part was that with Ao-zai’s two carrots included, the food Duoduo and Ao-zai had picked weighed almost exactly two kilograms. They couldn’t even refuse the carrots and return them to the production team.

In front of the camera, Ao-zai maintained his dumbfounded expression.

[Look how hard wifey is laughing, now I finally understand what ‘shaking with laughter like a flowering branch’ means…]

[Being able to see Shizun smile like this makes everything worth it, thank you again to the production team and little Ao-zai!]

[Haha, the cub’s deflated expression is so cute, but Qing-qing you’re too mean! Not telling him what to pick beforehand is one thing, but you should have at least told the cub what not to pick hahaha]

[Don’t panic cub, Dad is too mean, punish Dad by making him eat all the carrots!]

After the weighing was finished and he had laughed enough, Shen Qing finally turned serious. He comforted Ao-zai: “It’s okay, we’ll see at the end, we can trade vegetables with the others. That way, Ao-zai won’t have to eat carrots!”

Ao-zai pouted his lips again. The human cub, with a dirt-smudged face, emphasized pitifully: “Ao-zai, doesn’t want to eat ca-ca-carrots…”

“Okay, okay, okay, we won’t eat them, we won’t eat them.”

Shen Qing said as he took a damp towel to wipe the cub’s face.

Beside them, Duoduo didn’t mind what he ate, but he had already seen the vegetables other groups had brought back and realized that almost every group’s basket contained carrots… Uh, as Duoduo looked at his younger brother, a hint of worry appeared in his expression.

Would anyone really trade with them like this?

Actually, Gu Duo didn’t recognize many vegetables either. The picking time provided by the production team was too short; he didn’t even have time to determine which part of the crops they should be picking, let alone coordinate exactly what they should harvest.

This feeling of lacking control made Gu Duo slightly frustrated.

But his eyes grew more resolute.

He needed to make another trip into the garden.

The second competition segment was a courage challenge, another classic game—the blind box.

Each family had to send one cub to reach into the blind box, touch the object inside, and accurately guess what it was.

If the cub didn’t know what it was, it didn’t matter, but they had to accurately describe the texture and other various characteristics until the adult could guess what it was, only then would the challenge be considered a success.

This game sounded simple, but it was actually quite difficult.