Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 148 Part 2 – Qiangqiang Will Never Stop Making Trouble (II)

When she got to this part, Mao Huizhu couldn’t stop laughing. Imitating Pangpang, she opened her mouth and eyes at the same time:

“Hahahaha… Pangpang opened his eyes right away, saw the lemon in Qiangqiang’s hand, and ran off!”

Chenchen, holding his stomach from laughing, added, “Qiangqiang was completely stunned. Hahaha…”

Sitting on the table, Pangpang seemed to know they were talking about him. The chubby toddler widened his eyes, opened his mouth with an “ah ah” again, and proudly reenacted the moment, making everyone burst out laughing once more.

“We’re not done yet!” Mao Huizhu continued excitedly. “A while later, Qiangqiang tried again to trick him.”

Little Pangpang wasn’t exactly great at remembering things—as long as he wasn’t being fed lemon, he was pretty agreeable.

Qiangqiang patiently played with him for a bit and repeated the same tactic. This time, he’d learned his lesson and didn’t take out the lemon slice too early. When Pangpang was told to close his eyes and open his mouth, sure enough, he opened both his eyes and mouth at the same time again.

So Qiangqiang said, “Pangpang, now close your eyes.”

And Pangpang obediently closed his eyes—but this time, he also clamped his mouth shut.

Mao Huizhu laughed while imitating Pangpang’s expression. It was as if his eyes and mouth were connected by a switch: either both open or both shut.

In the end, even Qiangqiang was defeated. He couldn’t get that lemon into Pangpang’s mouth no matter what.

It was the first time Qiangqiang had failed to prank a little kid, and he was so bitter about it that he woke up this morning determined to restore his honor.

Xiao Feng, Chenchen, and Mao Huizhu, of course, had to watch and enjoy the show. But things didn’t go any differently than the day before. Still, Qiangqiang had clearly thought it through overnight.

This time, when Pangpang closed both his eyes and mouth, Qiangqiang grabbed his chubby cheeks and gently pinched his mouth open, saying confidently, “Open your eyes.”

He thought he had it for sure this time, but even with his mouth held open, Pangpang’s eyelids stayed shut tight, as if they’d been glued down. He kept trying to lift them but couldn’t open his eyes no matter what.

As Mao Huizhu recounted this, she acted it out by gently pinching Pangpang’s cheeks to demonstrate. Sure enough, the little guy closed his eyes and couldn’t open them, which sent everyone into peals of laughter.

After that, Pangpang basically spent the whole day training his facial muscles. Since Qiangqiang had given up, Chenchen, Xiao Feng, and Huizhu took turns sneaking up when no one was watching to play the “close your eyes, open your mouth” game with him.

Xia Mian stood by the window watching Xiao Feng and Chenchen sneak over—one pinching Pangpang’s cheeks, the other trying to pry open his eyes—and couldn’t stop laughing.

Eventually, Pangpang developed a new defensive strategy: the moment he saw them, he would widen his eyes and open his mouth in a dramatic “ah ah” shout as a warning.

The adults were practically dying of laughter.

In the end, the kids gave up and went back to working on their “experiment,” especially since Qiangqiang was leaving soon and they wanted to finish it.

The adults, still feeling sentimental about Mao Huimei’s wedding and her eventual return visit, thought the peace would last for at least one day when suddenly, a new commotion erupted outside.

Xiao Feng came dashing in. “Uncle Hai! Brother Qiangqiang and Aunt Huizhu’s fingers are stuck in wood!”

Xia Hai jumped to his feet, cursing as he rushed outside. “That little brat—can’t I have one peaceful day?!”

The others quickly snapped out of it and followed him out to see what had happened.

There they saw Qiangqiang and Mao Huizhu each lifting one end of a long, narrow wooden plank as they made their way into the yard.

“Slow down! It hurts!” Mao Huizhu cried.

Chenchen shouted angrily, “Qiangqiang, slow down! Turn sideways, sideways! How are you two even getting through like that?!”

Qiangqiang had no choice but to squeeze in sideways first, with Huizhu following behind. Looking closely, everyone realized: each of them had a finger stuck in a hole at opposite ends of the board, and both their fingers were visibly red and swollen.

Xia Hai, experienced as he was, took one look and knew there was no way to pull their fingers out directly; the only option was to have it broken apart. He quickly turned to Xia Wenyue. “Second Aunt, where’s the saw? Quick, bring it over.”

Xia Wenyue directed Mao Huilan to go get it. Meanwhile, Qiangqiang was still unbothered and said confidently, “Dad, no need for a saw. Just use ice. It’s called thermal expansion and contraction! Once it cools down, my finger will shrink.”

Mao Huizhu nodded in agreement. “Yeah, get ice from the fridge.”

Chenchen, standing nearby, was completely speechless. “So the two of you stuffed your fingers in there on purpose and rubbed them until they were swollen?!”

Qiangqiang replied, “Friction causes heat, and heat causes expansion. We’re proving your theory.”

Chenchen was about to explode. “Thermal expansion and contraction applies to objects, you know—objects! Are you guys objects?!”

Xia Mian couldn’t help but chime in, “Right, they’re not objects.”

Xiao Feng immediately got her joke, reached out to grab her hand, and bit his lip, trying not to laugh.

Chenchen, who had been fuming, also caught on—and he had no mercy. He burst out laughing. “Right, you’re not objects!”

Mao Huizhu shot back, “You’re the one who’s not an object!”

Chenchen replied, “If you were, would you thermally expand and contract?”

Qiangqiang said, “But our fingers are really hot right now! See how they’ve expanded?”

Chenchen snapped, exasperated beyond belief, “That’s called swelling, okay?! Swelling! Not expansion! Two idiots!”

“We already put the iron ball in the fridge for thermal expansion testing, remember? We’ll see the results this afternoon! What are you even doing?!”

Qiangqiang mumbled, “That’s too slow.”

“So you used your own fingers for the experiment?” Chenchen glared at their red, swollen hands, equal parts furious and worried.

Xia He and Xia Chuan had already set up a tall stool. Xia Hai took the saw from Mao Huilan and said calmly, “Chenchen, it’s fine. Qiangqiang’s tough—this level of swelling won’t hurt him.” Then to Mao Huizhu, “Come on, bring it over. Let me take care of yours first.”

Mao Huizhu’s finger was really starting to hurt, so she obediently stepped up and laid the board on the stool. As she did, the board accidentally tugged on Qiangqiang’s end, and he let out a yelp.

Xia Hai shot him a glare. “Hold still!”

Qiangqiang grumbled under his breath, “I just wanted to test thermal expansion and contraction. I swear, once we get the ice, I won’t need the saw. My finger’ll come out on its own!”

Xiao Feng had already brought the ice over. Even if it didn’t help with “contraction,” his swollen finger definitely needed it. After all, Huizhu’s side would take a while.

Xiao Feng and Chenchen took turns holding the ice on Qiangqiang’s finger. But by the time Huizhu’s finger was finally freed, Qiangqiang’s hadn’t “contracted” at all—on the contrary, it had swelled up even more.

Xia Hai casually handed the saw to Mao Huilan. “Here, take the saw back. He says the ice is enough.”

“No, ice isn’t working!” Qiangqiang cried out. “Dad, help me!”

Li Fang quickly added, “Hurry up—his finger’s already turning purple.”

Only then did Xia Hai get to work, but he was far less gentle than he’d been with Mao Huizhu. Amid Qiangqiang’s wails and shrieks, he sawed through the board in five or six minutes. The moment he was free, Qiangqiang, just like Huizhu, plunged his hand into the ice water Xiao Feng had prepared.

Crisis averted, everyone looked at the troublemaker duo and couldn’t help but laugh again. Xia Hai handed the saw back to Mao Huilan, then spat twice into his hands and moved forward—seeing this, Qiangqiang knew it wasn’t looking good. He didn’t even care about soaking his hand anymore and immediately bolted for his life.

Xia Hai, clearly experienced, chased after him with ease, and the courtyard once again descended into chaos.

The eldest uncle let out a sigh. “I thought once he started doing experiments, he’d settle down a bit. Turns out he’s never going to be quiet in this lifetime.”

…

Mao Huimei’s return visit stirred up another day of lively energy. It was clear she was doing well in her in-laws’ house. Xia Wenyue had a private conversation with her daughter and finally felt reassured.

The Fang family had a decent overall atmosphere. There was a bit of rivalry between the sisters-in-law right after the wedding, but with Mao Huimei’s financial independence and confidence, it wouldn’t be a long-term problem.

Of course, when it was time to leave again, Mao Huizhu cried once more. But this time, she didn’t throw a tantrum, because Xia Wenyue had already sat her down to explain what marriage meant.

Of course, she wasn’t the only one—Xiao Feng had also been taken aside by Ning Shaobai, who hugged him and whispered to him for a long time. No one knew what exactly was said, but somehow it reignited Xiao Feng’s sense of duty toward his future uncle-in-law.

When Xia Mian asked about it later, Xiao Feng answered seriously, “Auntie, we have to protect Uncle Ning.”

Xia Mian laughed. “Why?”

“There can only be one uncle-in-law,” Xiao Feng said solemnly. “Just like Second Great-Aunt can only have one Second Great-Uncle, and Auntie Ning can only have one Uncle Zhou.”

“You can only marry Uncle Ning. If there’s no more Uncle Ning, then there’s no more uncle-in-law!”

Xia Mian: “…” That’s a bit too dramatic.

She couldn’t help teasing the boy. “It’s okay, even if Uncle Ning’s gone, if Auntie marries someone else, Xiao Feng will still have an uncle-in-law.”

“No way!” Xiao Feng said anxiously. “Uncle Ning has our money! He said he’s gonna buy stocks and houses for us and make lots and lots of money…”

Xia Mian: “……”

Here was the important question: Was Xiao Feng being bribed by Ning Shaobai? Or was Ning Shaobai being used by Xiao Feng?

Her marriage had somehow turned into a financial transaction. Was this the collapse of morality, or the death of human decency?!

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