thefictionvixens Chapter 435 Dad's Work
Chapter 435 Dad's Work
In the spring of 1992, willow catkins began to drift in Beijing. The crabapple blossoms in the courtyard houses on Dongxinglong Street bloomed and faded, and the little charms on Chenchen and Xixi's schoolbags quietly changed from "small class" to "middle class".
Life is like the swing in the middle of the yard, swinging in a regular pattern, tracing an arc.
As the siblings moved up to the middle class, their differing interests became increasingly apparent.
Xi Xi has become obsessed with singing and dancing.
Chenchen became completely obsessed with "disassembling" and "reassembling".
Alexander and Albert regularly deposited European and American science and technology journals into the space warehouse every week: from Popular Mechanics to more professional introductory engineering diagrams, which became his most fascinated "picture books" besides picture books.
He can sit quietly for half a day studying a book titled "Illustrated Guide to the Internal Structure of a Car".
Then, using the large, rounded-edge building blocks and screw components specially made for him by Lin Yan, he tried to assemble something that "has wheels and can run on its own".
Although the success rate was low, their focus was truly moving.
To cater to the interests of her two children, Lin Yan hired four teachers from abroad.
Two senior teachers from the Vienna Academy of Music are responsible for vocals and piano, respectively.
An expert who previously worked on early science education for children at the MIT Media Lab.
Another Wimbledon retiree has quietly settled in Beijing as a "cultural exchange scholar" or "specially appointed expert."
Classes are scheduled after school and on weekends.
The Steinway pianos were also replaced with two, which were placed in the east and west wing rooms of the newly rearranged courtyard to prevent the music from interfering with each other.
The tennis lessons were held in an indoor venue owned by the Siyuan Group that was not open to the public.
Lin Yan's requirements are simple: to stimulate interest, experience enjoyment, and establish basic norms and aesthetics, without forcing growth.
Xixi chose vocal music and piano, while Chenchen chose "mechanical exploration" and piano.
The two children were surprisingly engrossed in their studies.
When Xixi was practicing vocalizations, her little face was tense and serious, and when Chenchen was tightening screws, his brows were furrowed, making him look like a little engineer.
Sometimes Lin Yan would sit quietly under the corridor in the courtyard, listening to the tender piano music coming from the two side rooms, and feel that his life at this stage was very meaningful.
The mundane days were disrupted by a kindergarten event at the end of April.
On April 30th, the eve of Labor Day, the kindergarten organized a small performance.
Wearing a white shirt and red pinafore dress specially prepared by Wang Yuling, Xi Xi stood on the small stage and sang "Let Us Row Our Boats" by herself.
The child's voice was clear and bright, with surprisingly good pitch, and her sweet smile won enthusiastic applause.
The teacher awarded her a "Little Singer" certificate and a big red flower. When she came off the stage, her eyes shone like stars, and she immediately rushed to Lin Yan and Wang Yuling in the audience to show off.
But when Lin Yan went to pick them up in the afternoon, the atmosphere was different.
Xi Xi hugged the certificate, her head down, her little mouth pursed tightly, all traces of the lively spirit she had shown that morning gone.
Chenchen also looked confused, and upon seeing his father's questioning gaze, whispered:
"My sister was unhappy this afternoon, right after the teacher spoke... I don't know why."
Lin Yan felt a little uneasy. He squatted down and picked up the sullen Xi Xi along with the certificate she was clutching tightly in her arms.
The little guy buried his face in the crook of his neck and didn't make a sound.
With her other hand, she took Chenchen's hand, who was also somewhat uneasy, and they returned to the car.
Speechless all the way.
Even after they returned to the courtyard house and passed through the hanging flower gate, Xi Xi still clung to his neck and refused to get down.
Wang Yuling came forward and was stunned when she saw the scene.
Lin Yan picked her up and sat her down on the sofa in the main room, gently patting her back:
"Xixi, tell Daddy, what's wrong? Who made our little singer unhappy? Is the certificate not pretty enough?"
The little body in my arms twitched slightly, and then Xixi suddenly raised her head, her eyes already red. The tears she had been holding back for so long finally burst forth, and she cried out "Wah!" She cried with a mix of grievance and sadness, gasping for breath.
"Dad...Does Dad...not have a job?"
She sobbed as she asked intermittently, tears streaming down her face, quickly soaking the front of Lin Yan's shirt.
Lin Yan was taken aback. He exchanged a glance with Wang Yuling and Lin Gang beside him, and they all saw the astonishment and confusion in each other's eyes.
"Xixi, why do you ask that?"
Lin Yan gently wiped away her daughter's tears with her fingertips, her voice becoming even softer.
"The teacher said... on Labor Day... we should love labor, work is the most glorious thing..."
Xi Xi sobbed, struggling to find the words to express herself.
"The teacher asked each child to say... what their parents do for a living... Mao Mao's dad is a policeman, he catches bad guys... Niu Niu's mom is a doctor, she saves people... Qi Qi's dad is a driver, he drives a big truck..."
She became more and more upset as she spoke:
"But...but I don't know what Dad does for a living...Aunt Wang doesn't work, Uncle Lin Gang doesn't work either...The teacher said that everyone has to work, otherwise...there won't be any food to eat, which is wrong..."
She looked up at her tear-streaked face, her voice trembling with immense fear:
"Dad, are we... going to run out of food soon? Isn't Dad glorious now?"
An eerie silence fell over the living room.
You could hear a pin drop.
Wang Yuling opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that she couldn't utter a single word.
Lin Gang scratched his head, feeling more helpless than he had ever been in front of a gun barrel in his entire life.
Lin Yan, a Nascent Soul expert, a hidden tycoon, and a global strategic strategist.
For the first time in my life, I was speechless and even felt a little embarrassed by a simple question about "work" from a three-year-old child.
Should I tell my daughter that my job is to "use cultivation techniques to conduct capital operations, plunder resources, and harvest talent globally, while also raising two divine beasts"?
Looking into his daughter's eyes, brimming with tears, dependence, and fear, he felt a pang of tenderness, a touch of bittersweetness, and a bittersweet warmth.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his momentary embarrassment, and put on a serious expression. He placed his hands on Xixi's small shoulders, looked into her eyes, and said earnestly:
"Xixi, don't cry. Daddy is going to 'work' tomorrow. But Daddy's 'work' doesn't have a fixed uniform... Hmm, how about this, tomorrow morning, Daddy will put on his most formal suit and tie, and go out to 'work,' okay? When I come back tonight, Daddy will tell you and your brother about the interesting things that happened during tomorrow's 'work.'"
Xi Xi's eyes finally lit up again. She nodded vigorously and held up her little finger: "Pinky promise!"
"Pinky promise." Lin Yan solemnly made a pinky promise with her, and then wiped her little face clean with a handkerchief.
The crisis is temporarily over.
Xi Xi stopped crying and started laughing. She slid off Lin Yan's lap and ran to show Wang Yuling her award certificate.
Lin Yan leaned back on the sofa, watching his daughter's energetic figure, and let out a soft breath. He gave Wang Yuling and Lin Gang a helpless yet amused expression.
Wang Yuling smiled faintly, shook her head, and went to prepare snacks for the children.
Lin Gang suppressed a laugh and whispered, "Young Master, where are you planning to 'work' tomorrow?"
Lin Yan rubbed his temples.
"The Lin family owns so many companies in China... Let's just pick one and go check it out. He's the nominal chairman, after all; we can't let our daughter think her dad is an unemployed bum."