Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Even More Dashing
After the family quietly finished their lunch, Qin Xiao and Xiao Li took the unwilling Mianmian back to the courtyard.
Mianmian had initially thought she could play after lunch, but Xiao Li said it was nap time and there was no playing allowed. She led Mianmian straight back to the courtyard, leaving the little girl quite unhappy.
Xiao Li looked down at Mianmian and saw her lips pouting high up, and she chuckled, "Mianmian, are you really this unhappy?"
Mianmian raised her head, "Mom, I haven’t played enough yet."
Xiao Li reached out to gently touch her small head, "Mom knows you haven’t played enough. How about we take a nap and after that, we can ask Dad to take us out to play again?
We’re going to stay here for many days, you can play slowly."
Qin Xiao didn’t speak; he simply quietly followed behind the mother and daughter, as the three of them returned to the courtyard. Xiao Li was still sleeping, and after Xiao Li dismissed the servants, the three of them also lay down on the bed to sleep.
Xiao Li had been asleep for over an hour. He usually drinks milk every two hours, so there was only half an hour left before he’d wake up; they had to seize the time to sleep.
Mianmian, eager to go out and play, lay down and fell asleep immediately. She knew she had to fall asleep quickly, otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to play when she woke up.
Xiao Li and Mianmian fell asleep instantly, and seeing them like this, Qin Xiao closed his eyes and slept too.
The few of them fell asleep on the same bed until Xiao Li woke up. Once he woke up, the other three on the bed wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore.
That little guy is impatient; he won’t wake up unless he’s hungry, but once awake he’ll start crying for food.
Xiao Li started crying, Qin Xiao immediately opened his eyes, quickly picked him up and soothed him for a bit, only handing Xiao Li over to Xiao Li after she sat up.
Xiao Li took Xiao Li in her arms and fed him milk; Mianmian rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up too.
"Little brother is so annoying, always just crying and crying..."
Qin Xiao heard this and pinched Mianmian’s little cheek, "Yes, he’s annoying. You used to be like this too, so you were just as annoying."
Mianmian pouted, "Daddy is lying, I did not cry, I’m not annoying at all."
Qin Xiao laughed and picked up the phone, "Look, Dad will show you some videos, take a good look and see who is crying in there?"
Qin Xiao said this as he opened the video and showed it to Mianmian. Mianmian watched the video without recognizing herself and laughed, "Hahaha... The baby is crying."
Qin Xiao laughed, "That baby is you! When you were as little as your brother, Dad filmed it for you.
You see, you also cried!
So you are just as annoying as your brother."
Mianmian pouted, "No, that’s not me..."
Saying this, she pushed the phone away.
Xiao Li watched the father and daughter play and fool around while feeding, Xiao Li had enough sleep in the morning and was now eating while watching with wide eyes...
After feeding, Xiao Li lifted Xiao Li up, patting his back to burp him, and when he finally burped, she laid him flat to hold.
Seeing Xiao Li lay the baby flat, Qin Xiao reached out to hold the baby. The little guy grew fast; he was already eleven pounds just a month after birth, and holding him for too long could make one’s arms sore.
Qin Xiao couldn’t bear to let Xiao Li hold him for too long.
Once Qin Xiao took Xiao Li, Xiao Li pulled Mianmian up from the bed, took her to the bathroom, washed her face, and tied her hair.
Mianmian’s hair had already grown to shoulder length and could be styled; both Xiao Li and Qin’s mother loved making Mianmian’s hair look pretty.
Mianmian loved being vain too; she would always cooperate whenever a pretty hairstyle was mentioned.
After tidying Mianmian, Xiao Li also combed her hair a bit, washed her face, and came out to hold Xiao Li, so Qin Xiao could wash up.
Once the whole family was ready, Qin Xiao carried Xiao Li, and Xiao Li led Mianmian out of the courtyard for a stroll around the ancestral home.
They first went to explore the ancestral home’s theater. This theater was once bustling during the Republic era; back then, the Qin Family even had their own troupe at home, almost enjoying daily opera performances.
But now the main family doesn’t live in the ancestral home often, and the theater only hosts performances for festivities when events are held at the ancestral house.
After touring the theater, they visited the ancestral home’s martial arts training ground.
This was where Qin Xiao and his brother practiced martial arts, but it wasn’t the place they practiced during their clan school lessons.
Instead, it was a private training ground within the ancestral home exclusively for the main branch’s descendants.
The clan school had a separate training ground for martial arts classes, where Qin Xiao and his brother practiced during lessons. They only practiced martial arts at this ground when they returned to the ancestral home.
As for the collateral branch’s people, they trained at the clan school’s ground.
Xiao Li was stunned by the immense training ground, "Uncle, what kind of martial arts do you practice here? It looks impressive."
Qin Xiao laughed, "We practice many. Would you like to see?"
Xiao Li blinked her eyes, "Yes, would you perform for us?"
Qin Xiao laughed, handed the child over to Xiao Li, loosened his clothing’s buttons and jumped onto the training platform to stretch and then performed a set of punches.
Xiao Li watched from below with her mouth open wide enough to hold an egg, while Mianmian clapped enthusiastically, "Daddy is amazing!"
After finishing the punches, Qin Xiao leapt down from the platform, came up to Xiao Li and closed her mouth, "Was it that shocking? You’ve seen me fight before."
Xiao Li shook her head, "That was different; last time you were just fighting without any techniques. This set was so handsome."
Qin Xiao chuckled, whispered softly in Xiao Li’s ear, "There are even more impressive sets. Want to see them?"
Xiao Li nodded, "Yes."
Qin Xiao chuckled lightly, "I’ll show you next time."
Just as Qin Xiao finished talking to Xiao Li, Mianmian came over, waving her little fists to challenge Qin Xiao to a fight.
Qin Xiao playfully sparred with her for a few rounds and made the little girl giggle, after which the family left the training ground and headed elsewhere.
After leaving the training ground, they walked past a small courtyard next to it when Xiao Li noticed the courtyard’s gate was locked.
Xiao Li was surprised; they had just walked through various courtyards, all with unlocked gates, so why was this one locked?
This courtyard was small and its location was quite hidden, with the grand training ground blocking the front, so if one didn’t walk in this direction, they wouldn’t easily notice this courtyard.
Since the training ground was restricted to Qin Xiao and his brother, not many could see this courtyard, yet its gate was locked, giving Xiao Li the sense that it seemed to be intentionally hidden.
Feeling puzzled, Xiao Li looked at Qin Xiao, who said placidly, "The kids are here, I’ll explain this to you another day."
Xiao Li nodded, "Alright."
The family walked past the little courtyard’s gate, continuing along the stone path.
Following the stone path forward, they came upon a bamboo garden full of bamboo trees. Each tree was tall, clearly having been there for many years.