Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Precious Darling-Chapter 20: Setting the Rules

Tang Xiaonan smugly made a face at Jim Thorne. ’Hmph! How dare he yell at me in front of Dad. He must be itching for a spanking.’

Jim Thorne was so angry he gritted his teeth. His little sister was cute, but she could also be infuriating, especially since she loved to tattle. Many of the beatings he’d gotten from Felix Thorne were thanks to her reports.

"My teacher said that we have to wait for our elders... um... that is, the oldest person eats first, then the younger ones can eat. We have to have good manners."

Tang Xiaonan spoke so quickly she choked on her own spit. She swallowed hard, but a few drops still leaked out of the gap in her teeth and trickled down her chin. Jim Thorne, who had been scowling, burst out laughing at the sight, and everyone else chuckled good-naturedly.

Phoebe Huxley smiled and wiped the drool off the mortified Tang Xiaonan’s chin. Tang Xiaonan wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Her chubby little face was bright red. ’It’s not my fault! It’s just that the facial muscles on this six-year-old body aren’t fully developed yet. Plus, with such a big hole where my tooth should be, a little drool is perfectly normal!’

With that thought, Tang Xiaonan calmed down. ’I’m six years old right now. Drooling is normal. What’s there to be ashamed of?’

She gave a loud huff at Jim Thorne, who was doubled over with laughter, then turned to Felix Thorne and asked very seriously, "Dad, am I right?"

"Right. What Xiaonan says is absolutely right. I haven’t even eaten yet, so what the hell do you think you’re eating, you little rascal!"

Felix Thorne was grinning from ear to ear. ’My daughter is so thoughtful. My three rotten boys only ever think about stuffing their faces first. When have they ever given a thought to good manners?’

In truth, he didn’t really care about such things. Country folk weren’t so particular. But since Tang Xiaonan had pointed it out so solemnly, Felix Thorne suddenly thought that having manners wasn’t so bad. ’Besides, I have to maintain my authority as their father!’

Of course, the main reason was that Felix Thorne was simply used to doting on his daughter. He would have cheerfully agreed to whatever she said. If Tang Xiaonan had claimed the rule was for the younger generation to eat first, Felix Thorne would have certainly agreed to that too. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Manners weren’t important in the Thorne family.

What was important was that Tang Xiaonan was happy.

"Dad and Mom eat first, then... then my brothers eat, and I’ll eat last... It’ll be like this from now on."

With the big gap in her teeth, her words always came out with a whistle. It was so awkward. ’But I guess it’s for the best,’ she thought. ’A six-year-old isn’t supposed to be that articulate anyway. Speaking like this is actually more normal for my age.’

"Our little Xiaonan is so sensible. She’s only been in school for a year and she already knows about good manners," said Phoebe Huxley. "Hmph, and you three? It seems all your schooling has gone to waste."

Phoebe Huxley felt more content than if she had eaten eighteen Ginsengfruits. Her satisfaction with her daughter was matched only by her disdain for her sons. Felix Thorne was naturally the same and didn’t spare his three sons a pleasant look either.

The three brothers just grinned, not minding their parents’ blatant favoritism. ’Of course they should spoil their little sister!’

After Tang Xiaonan’s little fuss, the three brothers were no longer in a mad rush to get at the meat. Felix Thorne picked up a piece, ate it, and said in a deep voice, "Alright, eat."

Only then did the three brothers pick up their chopsticks. Like hungry tigers descending a mountain, they scrambled to grab pieces of meat. It’s said that growing boys will eat you out of house and home; three of them could eat an entire mountain bare.

Luckily, Felix Thorne was a butcher, so there was no shortage of meat. Otherwise, they would have eaten him into the poorhouse long ago.

Felix Thorne watched his three sons. The scene at the dinner table was completely different from usual. They all picked up their chopsticks in an orderly fashion, unlike their normal free-for-all where they’d start gobbling everything down the second they sat at the table. He was naturally quite moved.

You never know how good something is until you have something to compare it to. Compared to the usual chaos, this was far better. Felix Thorne’s heart was stirred. He had never been particular about these so-called ’manners’ before, but now, he was starting to have a few ideas.