Kapitel 67: The Babysitting Experience (4)

Not long after the chaos in the kitchen ended, Lin Xi woke up from his sleep. Lin Kang hurried to accompany his son. There was one thing worth praising about Lin Xi, he was not fussy about his food. He would eat anything that was placed before him, which was why Xiu Ling had to watch over him often because some of those things were not exactly edible.

Lin Xi munched on the garden pea baby food happily, showing zero sign that he missed those special treats that Xiu Ling would prepare for him.

Looking at his son, Lin Kang could not help but grumble in the women's absence that perhaps they were being a bit too particular about Lin Xi's food. After all, he was only a toddler but from the attention they paid to the little man's diet, it was like they were treating him like some kind of professional food taster.

In any case, the breakfast went so swimmingly that it restored the confidence in Lin Kang that he had lost from his disastrous encounter with the dreadful mango.

After the uneventful breakfast, Lin Kang felt like he had some time on his hands to catch up on his work so he hauled Lin Xi to his study. He arranged the play mats on the floor and placed the toddler on it.

He then went to Lin Xi's playroom to haul an array of toys back to his study. When he placed the stuff down, Lin Kang realized how similar the set up was to a traditional Chinese ceremony, Zhua Zhou or Picking the Future.

Zhua Zhou, literally translated as grabbing anniversary, was held at the child's first birthday. An array of items representing different things were placed before the child and they were given the freedom to pick whichever they wanted. The thing that they picked would symbolize their future.

Considering how opportune the circumstances were, Lin Kang figured, 'Why not?'

Lin Xi had just celebrated his first birthday and Lin Kang had plenty of items on hand. Of course, they were not the ones specifically demanded by the traditional ceremony but Lin Kang felt they would suffice.

Lin Kang arranged the items some distance away from Lin Xi and a set interval between each other.

There was a coloring book to represent a career dealing with creativity; a toy car for adrenaline seekers; a toy microphone for entertainment-related future; a calculator that Lin Kang grabbed from his table to represent a future in business; a small mirror for personal grooming and beauty care; and finally a set of building blocks that had a special meaning to Lin Kang.

When everything was set up, Lin Kang clapped twice to get Lin Xi's attention. The boy was looking around Lin Kang's study with interest when Lin Kang was setting up. He was rarely given the chance to be inside this room, since he normally had no business of being there.

Lin Xi turned to the sound and the row of items quickly caught his attention. Lin Xi examined them with his eyes before starting to crawl towards them. Lin Kang moved away from the row of items so he would not influence Lin Xi's decision even though internally, he was hoping the boy would move towards the blocks.

Lin Xi moved towards the mirror first perhaps the glint that reflected the light caught his eyes. He was intrigued by his other self that was reflected in the mirror. He reached out his hand maybe in an attempt to get to know and make friends with the other him.

His fingers touched the cold surface of the mirror and proceeded to smudge the silvery surface. The stain distorted the reflection and he could not see his "friend" anymore so Lin Xi swiftly moved on.

After crawling for a short distance, Lin Xi probably got tired and he sat down on his butt. His eyes scanned the rest of the items with seriousness like an appraiser silently evaluating a piece of unearthed artifact… or at least that was what Lin Kang believed his son was doing.

When he was done finished resting, Lin Xi climbed off his butt and continued crawling. Under his father's gaze that was filled with anticipation, he crawled towards the set of building blocks.

The building blocks were made from plastic and came in different shapes, sizes and colours. Their edges were smoothed down so the child would not accidentally injure himself while playing.

Lin Xi sat before the blocks and started to stack them up on top of each other. He seemed to be wholly absorbed in his play time.

Lin Kang smiled to himself when he saw this. The set of building blocks was particularly meaningful to him because they represented a future in real estate and construction, something that he was dealing in.

Lin Corp's empire was huge and they crossed many fields but at its center, Elder Lin started the company from having a precise eye in real estate investment. That was the company's history and the root of the Lin family's prestige and power.

Even though Elder Lin still handled some of the more special cases, like those with old clients who were personal friends of Elder Lin, most of the company's business had been handed over to Lin Kang.

Just like how he had taken the mantle over from his father, Lin Kang hoped that Lin Xi would inherit the business from him and continue to write this history.

If the result of the Zhao Zhou was anything to go by, his wish would become a reality. Lin Kang was not a superstitious person but he was relieved and thankful when he saw the result.

Lin Kang smiled indulgently as his son toyed with the blocks, building some sort of strange building. When he was done, Lin Xi giggled, clapping his hands like he found great pleasure in this activity.

Lin Kang watched his son for a little longer before leaving him be and he turned back to focus on his own work.