Chapter 46: The Tooth-Brushing Song

"So you finally admit you're a little troublemaker!" Huang Guolun seized the chance to tease Huang Tao.

"Dad, even if I am a little troublemaker, what's there for you to be happy about? If I'm a little bear cub, then what does that make you? Papa Bear?"

"@#@...%...@!"

"I really don't understand why you grown-ups always call me a little troublemaker or say I'm a trouble-stirring stick."

Huang Guolun paused. Trouble-stirring stick? Who on earth would use such a term for Huang Tao? That was truly malicious!

"Who called you a trouble-stirring stick?" Huang Guolun asked.

"It was Wang Xiaoshan's mom from our kindergarten. She always gossips with other parents behind my back, saying I lead all their children astray. But if I'm the stirring stick, what does that make Wang Xiaoshan and the others? The...stuff being stirred? Why would they describe their own kids that way?"

"Well..." Huang Guolun was left speechless, so he quickly changed the subject. "Stop overthinking, kid, and brush your teeth."

"Hehe, finally! This weekend I’ll be free from you—I can have a blissful foodie weekend at last! I'd better brush my pearly whites clean to welcome a happy weekend!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Huang Tao began to brush his teeth. As he brushed, he sang a folk tune entirely unsuited for his age, "Teeth and Love":

"On a sunny afternoon, I suddenly feel lost, not knowing what I should do~
Should I fix my teeth, or make a call? This question always puzzles me~
My favorite season, autumn has arrived, maybe a stroll outside would be nice~
But what about my teeth, and my beloved? These questions make my heart race~"

This song, written by Wan Xiaoli, had a playful, brisk melody reminiscent of a children's rhyme. Huang Tao, sharp as ever, memorized it after just one listen. Ever since, it became his go-to song during tooth-brushing.

With his mouth full of toothpaste foam, his singing was muffled, but his appearance while singing was irresistibly adorable. Especially during the chorus, when he wriggled his little hips to the "aiya aiya" refrain, his antics were endearing beyond words.

"Dad, do you know what teeth and love have in common?" In the middle of brushing, he turned his chubby face, and, in a good mood, answered his own question: "They're both things you can't extricate yourself from, haha."

"Do you even understand what that means?"

"Of course I do! The song makes it perfectly clear!" Huang Tao continued brushing as he sang on: "My teeth may fall out, but will love ever grow old? Thinking about it feels so pointless. If love were like teeth, if broken it could be fixed, would happiness still be found?"

Suddenly, Huang Guolun felt he shouldn't let Huang Tao be exposed to such songs about love and emotions. The kid learned too quickly; it was too soon for this sort of thing. At his age, he should be singing more age-appropriate songs.

So, during breakfast, Huang Guolun decided to teach him a new song: "The Tooth-Brushing Song."

He moved the electric keyboard to the dining table, picked up a fried dough stick to use as a toothbrush, and while playing the keys, said, "Peach, let me teach you a new song."

"Did you write it yourself?" Huang Tao asked while sipping soybean milk.

"Yes, it's in the style you love—the kind your favorite Little Witch Sister, Mavis Hsiao, sings. It's called 'The Tooth-Brushing Song.'"

"Dad, if you wrote it yourself, maybe you should spare me and just let me eat in peace."

Not giving his father any credit, Huang Tao immediately lowered his head to eat upon learning the song was his dad’s original.

Huang Guolun, feeling deflated, insisted, "At least listen. If you don’t like it, you never have to learn it."

"Alright, sing it then."

Though he said that, Huang Tao kept his head down, happily munching his breakfast, with no intention of listening attentively.

With no other choice, Huang Guolun began to sing, doing his best to bring out the innocence and charm of the song: "I brush, I brush, I brush brush brush; I brush, I brush, I brush brush brush..."

He glanced up, only to see Huang Guolun using the fried dough stick as a toothbrush. Huang Tao burst out laughing, instantly captivated by his father's antics.

"I brush up and down, I brush front and back, I brush carefully, I brush gently, I brush happily before bed, after waking, and after every meal, because my teeth are my best friends! There are so many delicious things, gobbling them all up, but cavities are the worst—once you get them, you can’t chew anything at all..."

Huang Tao hadn’t expected his dad’s "Tooth-Brushing Song" to be so catchy and delightful. He was completely taken in, nodding his head with enthusiasm. He, too, dreaded the thought of cavities—after all, with cavities, you couldn't eat anything!

Seeing Huang Tao listen so intently, smacking his lips and staring with rapt attention, Huang Guolun felt a surge of satisfaction. In the past, Huang Tao had never listened to his singing so earnestly. Clearly, today the boy was enchanted by his "Tooth-Brushing Song."

Wanting to spark even more interest in children's songs, Huang Guolun sang with extra gusto—

"Hehehe! You’ve got a big hole in your tooth! Hehehe! Dentists are forever foreigners to me! I brush, I brush, I brush brush brush, gently squeezing out toothpaste! I brush, I brush, I brush brush brush, I don’t want anyone calling me Big Yellow Teeth!"

When he finished, Huang Tao clapped his hands and laughed. "Dad, your song is adorable! It's really got that Little Witch vibe, just like Mavis Hsiao! I can’t believe you can write songs in that style—it’s impressive!"

"Is writing songs like this so hard? Is my talent so unremarkable to you? Just writing a song like this is enough to impress you?"

"More than that! With your usual level, you must have gone above and beyond to write a song this good!"

Stung, Huang Guolun bit into his fried dough stick and decided not to bicker with Huang Tao—any further and he’d only suffer more blows to his ego.

"This song is really adorable! Dad, sing it again so I can learn it. I’ll teach the other kids at kindergarten today. From now on, after meals when we brush our teeth, we’ll sing this 'Tooth-Brushing Song' instead of 'Song of the Hero.'"

Huang Guolun nearly threw out his back. "You kids at kindergarten sing 'Song of the Hero' when brushing your teeth?"

"Of course! Teacher Li’s 'Baby Who Brushes Teeth is the Best' is way too childish and boring. So I taught everyone 'Song of the Hero.'"

Huang Tao immediately broke into song: "When injustice appears, I roar! When it's time to act, I act! Storming across the land with unrelenting spirit!—Isn’t that the best song to brush your teeth to?"

Huang Guolun was completely speechless. No wonder Wang Xiaoshan’s mom called him a trouble-stirrer; this kid was quite the character at kindergarten.

That morning, Huang Tao happily learned the "Tooth-Brushing Song" from his father, singing it all the way out the door and down the stairs. Even after getting into the car, he kept singing, clearly smitten with the tune.

Huang Guolun’s car rolled out of the apartment complex. Passing by a food stall selling pancakes at the entrance, Huang Tao finally stopped singing, his attention now drawn to the delicious aroma of the pancakes.

He asked curiously, "Dad, I've always wondered—why do those uncles and aunties who make pancakes use 'bamboo dragonflies' to spread the batter?"

"Those are special spatulas for making pancakes, not bamboo dragonflies."

"Are you sure they're spatulas? They look just like bamboo dragonflies to me!" As he spoke, he inhaled deeply, putting on an act. "Maybe you should stop the car, Dad, let's go take a closer look—see if they're really spatulas or bamboo dragonflies."

Glancing at him, Huang Guolun replied, "You just ate—how can you be hungry again? Don't try to trick me; I won't fall for it. No more food before kindergarten. You'll get a nutritious breakfast there."

Sensing his father's iron resolve, Huang Tao pouted. "The kindergarten's so-called nutritious meals aren’t nutritious at all. Not even an ice cream cone. With an ice cream cone, then it would be nutritious."

Huang Guolun just smiled, refusing to be drawn in.

"But the yogurt at kindergarten is really tasty. I drink several bottles every time."

"You can drink as much as you want? Isn't it supposed to be one bottle per person?"

"It's one bottle per person, but Wang Xiaoshan and the others only lick the yogurt off the lid. The rest of the bottle, they give to me."

"Why?"

"No special reason. They just think it looks fancy to drink yogurt that way."

Huang Guolun sensed Huang Tao was hiding something. "Did you say something to fool them again?"

"Not exactly," Huang Tao chuckled. "I’ve always had the habit of licking the lid when I drink yogurt. One day, Wang Xiaoshan saw me and pointed, saying, 'You guys must be really poor—only poor kids lick the lid when they drink yogurt.'"

Huang Guolun frowned, thinking Wang Xiaoshan's upbringing left much to be desired. Clearly, not all wealthy kids were well-mannered.

Huang Tao then asked, "Dad, even if we can’t afford a plane, we’re not poor, right?"

"That depends on who you compare us to. Compared to most families, we’re definitely not poor."

"See! We’re not poor at all! So when Wang Xiaoshan said we were, I got annoyed. I tossed the yogurt, lifted my chin, and snapped back, 'Your family is the poor one! In our house, we only lick the bit on the lid, and throw the rest away! Only poor kids drink the yogurt in the bottle!'"

Huang Guolun was stunned. He had just been thinking poorly of Wang Xiaoshan’s manners, only to realize his own son’s were arguably worse.

"Ever since then, Wang Xiaoshan and the others all look up to me. When it’s time for yogurt, they only lick the bit on the lid and leave the rest, terrified that drinking it would make people think their families are poor. Grandpa always taught me, we can live extravagantly, but we must never waste. I, Huang Tao, refuse to be a food-wasting brat, and I won’t let Wang Xiaoshan and the others waste food either! So, when they’re not looking, I secretly drink all the yogurt they leave behind. That way, nothing gets wasted. Dad, I’m a good kid, right?"

"You...good, my foot!" Huang Guolun finally couldn’t hold back and cursed.

"Did you just now smell the one I let slip ten minutes ago?" Huang Tao asked in concern. "Dad, is there something wrong with your nose?"

"Stop changing the subject! After this weekend, I’m giving you a proper lesson in morals and conduct!"