Chapter 7

Koko's body had reverted to the infant stage, but her appetite remained the same as before, even that of a two-year-old child, and her intellectual development far exceeded that of a two-year-old. How could Jin Xuntao, as a father, not understand his own daughter? Just the fact that she didn't cry or cause trouble, and could even accompany him to work, was enough to show how special she was. For ordinary children, achieving this would be impossible, and Jin Xuntao wouldn't be able to work and earn money so peacefully; he would have to focus most of his energy on taking care of the child. Originally, at one and a half years old, Koko could already eat complementary foods like porridge, noodles, and easily chewable vegetables, and a small amount of salt could be added. However, due to the changes in her body, she now had to start drinking formula again to satisfy her hunger, which was uncomfortable for her. After all, she had already gotten used to those foods, and now she had to fill her stomach with formula every day, refusing to eat any complementary foods, which was hard for her to bear. But Jin Xuntao couldn't be blamed for this. After the changes in her body, her various physiological functions had reverted to those of an infant, so it was impossible to give her complementary foods, as it would cause digestive problems. Therefore, even if Koko was very hungry, Jin Xuntao had to be firm and ignore her. Now, Koko was starting to grow teeth, and her age had reached 'seven months,' making her ready to eat complementary foods again. Jin Xuntao was happy for her. Koko wanted to eat chicken legs, which was a simple and easy request. In the parallel America, meat products were quite cheap. A box of five pork slices, each weighing one pound, sold for $4.99. Beef was similarly priced at $8.99 for a box of five one-pound slices. Chicken legs were even cheaper, with a box of ten selling for just $2.99. If you earned and spent money locally, these prices were indeed very cheap. However, exchange rates were not a reliable factor; the purchasing power should be considered based on local earnings and spending. In America, no matter what kind of meat you wanted to eat, the prices were affordable. However, Jin Xuntao had a constant worry: were these cheap meats from hormone-treated pigs, cows, or chickens? After all, the prices were truly too low. Although Jin Xuntao was from another timeline, he had the soul of a middle-aged man and decades of experience, so he was well aware of this situation in America. In the original timeline, only three states in America had laws requiring labels for genetically modified foods, and the public was largely unaware. It seemed that this timeline was similar. For himself, eating suspected genetically modified foods was not a big deal, but Jin Xuntao was absolutely unwilling for his daughter to eat such foods. As a man with the soul of a middle-aged person, he knew that genetically modified foods could affect a child's health. Now that Koko was growing teeth, he would definitely start giving her complementary foods in the future, so he was both happy and worried about her development. The reason was simple: in the original timeline, only three states in America had laws requiring labels for genetically modified foods. In this timeline, there were no such laws, so it was impossible to know which meats or vegetables were genetically modified. The little one in Jin Xuntao's arms seemed excited because she heard her father say he would give her chicken legs. She was clearly more excited than usual. Seeing her joyful and animated expression, Jin Xuntao couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Why are you so excited? Your teeth have just started to come in, and you only have four of them, so you can't eat chicken legs yet. You have to wait until your teeth are fully grown." Indeed, although Koko was starting to grow teeth, they had just begun to emerge and were not fully developed, so she couldn't eat complementary foods, especially chicken legs. So, the little one's excitement was clearly premature. Due to the mysterious energy from the time tunnel, Koko's intelligence had also undergone some changes and improvements, and she already possessed the intelligence of a one-and-a-half-year-old child. After living in this parallel timeline for half a year, she should now be the equivalent of a two-year-old. Of course, because of the influence of the time tunnel's mysterious energy, her intelligence could not be equated with that of a child of the same age. So, the little one, who still looked like a seven-month-old baby, immediately lost her smile when she heard her father's words, and her face turned to a frown and a pout, clearly showing that she was upset. Yes, she understood very well what her father meant, which was that there was no hope for chicken legs. So, the little one, who was so hungry, was naturally unhappy. Even though the little one was unhappy, Jin Xuntao, as a father, couldn't indulge her; he had to be firm. "Are you angry?" "Daddy! Bad!" Jin Xuntao's expression was quite vivid. Today, his daughter not only started growing teeth but also began speaking, though not very clearly, she could express her meaning. Oh my! Koko had been able to speak intermittently before, but due to the time tunnel, she had to revert to the infant stage and couldn't speak. Now, she could finally speak again, and Jin Xuntao, as a father, was momentarily filled with joy. He didn't care that Koko called him "bad"; he had long forgotten about it. "Oh, is Daddy really that bad? You're making Daddy very sad. You know, Daddy loves you the most." The little one closed her eyes and turned her face to the side, clearly showing that she was upset. Unfortunately, being only seven months old and still in her father's arms, she couldn't walk away like she used to when she was upset. "Oh, you're angry? You can finally speak, and this is how you treat Daddy?" Jin Xuntao was very happy that Koko could speak again, so he didn't mind her ignoring him and continued to tease her. A seven-month-old child speaking and expressing herself to adults would shock many people. After all, most children of this age couldn't do that. However, Koko, influenced by the mysterious energy from the time tunnel, was clearly not like other children. The little one began to squirm impatiently in her father's arms, clearly not wanting to stay there. In the original timeline, Koko was very active, so for the past half year, due to the changes in her body, she had to live like an infant again and couldn't run around as she used to. Indeed, when Koko learned to walk, other children took small steps, but she ran in big strides, even though it often led to falls. But she would get up and continue running, completely different from other children. It was clear that Koko was a very active child. "What, don't you like Daddy holding you?" Jin Xuntao noticed his daughter's vigorous movements and loosened his grip to prevent her from getting hurt, while also teasing her. He wasn't worried that she wouldn't understand him; he knew that his daughter, influenced by the mysterious energy from the time tunnel, was not like other children of the same age and could understand his words and communicate with him. "Put me down, put me down." Well, he had overestimated his daughter. Clearly, she wasn't the super genius he imagined, but she was still more advanced than a two-year-old. From her way of speaking, Jin Xuntao quickly made an initial judgment and guess. Even so, it was enough to make him happy. "Okay! Daddy will put you down, but don't crawl around too much." After saying this, Jin Xuntao placed the little one on the ground, and she quickly freed herself from the swaddle and began to crawl on the carpeted floor. Compared to a seven-month-old, Koko was much stronger and in better physical condition, so she crawled very quickly. After crawling for a while, the little one felt unsatisfied and crawled to the coffee table in front of the sofa, using her hands to support herself and trying to stand up. Indeed, in the original timeline, Koko had already learned to walk and had long passed the crawling stage. So, she wanted to see if she could still do it. Unfortunately, after a lot of effort, she found that it wasn't possible. Plop! She fell on the carpet, and after a hard fall, she pouted but didn't cry. Jin Xuntao walked to the sofa and sat down, smiling as he watched his daughter crawl around, releasing the energy built up in her small body. It was clear that she had been holding back, and now she was letting loose, almost as if she wanted to crawl to the ceiling. Fortunately, her attention had shifted from the chicken legs, so Jin Xuntao simply sat there and watched her, letting her release her energy. At the same time, Jin Xuntao turned on the second-hand laptop in front of him, opened his email, and began to check for feedback on his submissions. Since there were no dangerous items in the room, it was safe for his daughter to crawl around, so he let her play.