Chapter 1113


    Michael carefully ced the vegetables into the carrier bag with the watermelon, relieved to find that the


    bag was sturdy enough to hold up the weight of today’s haul.


    The women in the crowd watched in awe as Michael carried the bag with one hand and picked up the


    piglet with the other. He held the piglet over his shoulder as he quickly jogged toward his courtyard.


    All everyone paid attention to was his lean and long physique; they did not miss the way his biceps


    curled beneath the smooth skin and they stared openly at his perfect shoulder des.


    He was built like a model—it was such a shame that he was carrying a pig!


    The piglet was seemingly pleased as it nestled into the crook of Michael’s neck, its front trotters resting


    on his broad shoulders.


    At that moment, everybody wished they were the piglet instead.


    By the time Michael had reached home with the groceries and the piglet, he noticed that there were filthy


    marks on him, courtesy of the piglet. He rinsed those off, having little regard to how the water sshed


    against his trousers, then quickly proceeded to thoroughly wash the vegetables and the rice. He also did


    not forget to put the piglet somewhere confined so it couldn’t run off while he was busy.


    They lived in a courtyard that was not equipped with gas or an electric rice cooker; there were only


    woodfire stoves, on which Michael was expected to cook their meals.


    Fortunately, they were given two stoves and two pots. Michael used one of the pots to make some


    porridge and the other for a spicy stir-fry hotpot.


    When Carmen finally sauntered back home at her own leisurely pace, she immediately started helping


    Michael with the preparation. It wasfortable as the father-daughter duo worked together to make


    lunch.


    Seeing as unauthorized persons were not allowed in the vicinity when the cameras were rolling, Sophia


    had had no choice but to disguise herself as part of the crew. She looked sheepish now as she took hold


    of a camera, angling to get closer up front as she kept her eyes on Michael’s pots.


    Michael had never cooked or cleaned a day in his life, but he had picked up basic cooking skills from


    survival training during his military days. The food he made was by no means restaurant quality but it


    was edible, and—at the very least—no one had ever died after eating his cooking.


    His head was bowed as he focused on his task at hand but when he looked up, he saw Sophia. She was


    wearing her contacts and she stared at his pot with such intensity that he thought her eyeballs might fall


    right in.


    Michael resisted his urge tough.


    Once he was done slicing the vegetables, he asked Carmen to keep an eye on the porridge while he


    followed the instructions that came with the stir-fry paste. The paste turned out better than he thought it


    would; it was fragrant and he could tell it was vorful despite theck of chilli.


    It wasn’t long before the aroma of stir-fry wafted through the courtyard. The fragrance prompted Carmen


    to abandon her post by the pot of porridge so that she could stand by her father, and she watched


    intently as he cooked.


    Michael nced up to find both mother and daughter staring at him.


    The pressure he felt was insurmountable.


    Lunch was at half-past noon and the five dads were meant to bring the dishes they made to a designated


    area where they could all eat together. By the end of this segment, the five babies would vote for the dad


    with the best dish.


    Sophia tailed after the crew. There were dozens of crew members surrounding the dining table, which


    had been set for ten.


    Her gaze swept over the dishesid out on the table. There were pies, dumplings and rice. Michael’s stir-


    fry hotpot and porridge definitely looked the best out of all the dishes; plus, he had brought half of the


    watermelon for everyone to share too.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sophia found herself salivating at the sight of her husband’s cooking. She then happened to turn and


    look into Harry’s bowl, which featured a very suspicious looking ckish-green substance.


    Harry appeared proud as he announced, “My son and I made this Eight Treasure Congee with lotus root,


    century egg, cucumber, pulled pork and lotus seeds.”


    Everyone stared and remained quiet.


    Sophia was so horrified that she quickly turned away from Harry, focusing on her husband instead.


    As the celebrities started to dig into their meals, the crew began to work in shifts as half of them


    continued working while the other half went to retrieve lunch boxes.


    Having taken a lunch box as well, Sophia sat in the corner and began to eat but her gaze lingered on


    Michael’s stir-fry hotpot.


    I really want to try his cooking…


    Sadly, she did not even have a chance to taste Michael’s cooking because it was polished off within


    mere moments of being set on the dining table.


    When everyone was done eating, the five children had to choose the dad with the best dish. Michael


    came out on top, which was due to the fact that while all the other kids had voted for their own dad,


    Ashton had voted for Michael instead. Granted, Harry wasn’t really Ashton’s father but one could not


    deny that the affronting congee was the main reason he had not won Ashton’s favor.


    Once they had finished the watermelon that Michael had brought to the table, everyone went back to


    their amodations with their bellies full; they needed to take a break before they continued filming for


    the rest of the afternoon.


    From the moment they’d woken up, the dads had been kept on their feet all day long as they dealt with


    unexpected situations. As a result, they were all drained so after going back and cleaning up the house


    for a bit, they fell asleep.


    However, Carmen was not worn out at all. Michael had gone back for a nap after the meal but Carmen


    had managed to sneak out of the courtyard to meet up with Ashton, and the both of them had gone next


    door to see the pig inbor.


    By the time Michael woke up and went in search of his daughter, it was already toote.


    Carmen had returned with a donkey in tow and a rooster in her arms.


    “Daddy, can I bring the chicken and the donkey back home?”


    “The pig next door had her babies. Can I bring another piglet home?”


    “The vige chief’s buffalo is so cute—can I bring it home?”


    Michael soon found himself speechless at Carmen’s string of requests.


    When Sophia sneaked over to the courtyardter that day to spy on Michael and Carmen, she was


    greeted by the sight of them in the yard, along with a rooster, donkey and arge buffalo.


    Michael was on the verge of insanity and when Carmen was keen on feeding their dinner to her


    newfound pets, he was about to have a nervous breakdown.


    Come dinner time, Michael had washed his undershirt and hung it to the side of the courtyard. The


    weather was hot so he decided to go shirtless as he made pot noodles. He added eggs and whatever


    amount of vegetables he had managed to salvage before Carmen fed them to her pets, then finished off


    the dish with a few cobs of corn.


    He had also given milk to Carmen, who only drank form that was customized by the family nutritionist.


    The form had been made into powdered form so that Michael could bring it along on this trip.


    Carmen was usually a picky eater but she ate her meal now without making a fuss; perhaps this had


    something to do with it being her dad’s cooking.


    She polished off a small bowl of noodles and a cob of corn. Grabbing her milk bottle, she stared


    contentedly at Michael as she drank her milk.


    Both of them seemed to be crowded around the little table. Michael had found two stic stools to make


    up for theck of chairs but while Carmen wasfortably seated, Michael—who was tall and long-


    limbed—had to fold into himself as he slurped up a big bowl of noodles. He had given most of the egg


    and vegetables in his bowl to Carmen, so all he had left were in strings of noodles.


    “What do you think of my cooking? Is it good?” Michael asked expectantly, putting down his chopsticks.


    “Yes,” Carmen answered sweetly.


    Just then, she set down her bottle and went into the house, onlying out momentster.


    “Don’t move, Daddy.”


    Michael stayed still. Carmen then rounded him with a bottle of insect repellent in her little hand and she


    began spraying it onto his back.


    “Daddy, you have mosquito bites. Let me blow them for you.”


    There were a few bumps that had formed on Michael’s back due to the mosquito bites. Carmen carefully


    sprayed insect repellent on him before she gently blew at the bumps.


    At that moment, Michael was so moved he teared up.


    She is daddy’s little girl, indeed!


    It was as though his hard work for the day had been worth it the moment Carmen greeted him as sweetly


    as she did.


    He would have given her anything she wanted—be it a buffalo, donkey or rooster!


    He would even have given her a dinosaur if she asked for it!