Chapter 27: Easier to Invite a Spirit Than to Dismiss One

"Don't grab, don't grab! What are you all fighting over?" Lin Siyan clutched her belly while scolding the four little ones, who were lunging at the food like hungry tigers.

The children paid her no mind. In the two days since the rain had stopped, Li Yunchao’s injuries had healed to the point where they only itched at the scabs; they no longer hurt at all. He held a ladle and served his younger siblings a large portion each, making sure to scoop only the solid bits.

After he was done, the porridge left in the pot could barely be called anything more than thin broth.

"It’s so delicious, thank you, Aunt Lin!" Li Mumu chirped, swinging her little feet with a bright smile.

Lin Siyan’s face turned green with rage. Everyone wanted the solid food; they were never full, and this life was becoming unbearable. However, she was not without her own methods. She knew that if she disciplined the children herself, she would only earn a reputation for being vicious; she preferred to shift the hatred elsewhere.

"Yunchao, everyone is hungry, but you really should let your elders eat first," Lin Siyan said, glancing at Old Madam Li with an expression of helplessness.

Old Madam Li leaned in and, seeing that all the solid food had indeed ended up in the bellies of those "little devils," flew into a rage. "You little brats! Were you born as starving ghosts? Do you have no manners? The elders haven't even eaten yet, and you’ve already started!"

Li Mumu wasn't afraid. If the old woman dared to hit her, she would just run. It was too early to reveal her true capabilities, but she was the type who would eat anything except a loss.

Li Yuan frowned as well. "Yunchao, when did you become so inconsiderate?"

Watching the children being scolded, Gu Yuru’s heart ached. She desperately wanted to take them under her wing, but the children refused to follow her. Yet, sharp as she was, she seemed to grasp the reason why they had stayed behind.

"Father, don't scold Big Brother. How about Mumu spits it out for you to eat instead?" Li Mumu made a show of preparing to spit, causing the Li family to look on with disgust. "Brothers, hurry and spit it out! Grandma wants to eat."

"Shut up!"

Li Mumu could tell that this time, her deadbeat father likely meant it literally. The three brothers suppressed their laughter, lowering their heads to apologize, though they had no intention of changing their ways next time.

Since the children had apologized with such a good attitude, Li Yuan had nothing more to say. "Don't let it happen again."

"Understood, Father," Li Mumu replied, her voice crisp and bright—clearly the sound of a child who had eaten her fill.

Listening to the bailiffs drinking and shouting over their games in their tent, Lady Zhao hoped her daughter could bring back some food, but she knew better—how could that be possible? The bailiffs weren't fools.

Eating the thin porridge where the rice grains could be counted, Lady Zhao couldn't help but complain. "There’s so little food, not enough for any of us. If those people want the children, we should just give them away. Keeping them only means sharing our rations. Why bother?"

Li Sheng glanced at Li Yuan and said with a sarcastic tone, "Third Brother didn't expect it to turn out like this, either."

Li Ye seemed to have recovered from the pain of losing his own son. He stood up abruptly and said, "Third Brother, I have to speak my mind. You need to give the children to your sister-in-law... to the Gu family. If things go on like this, we're all going to starve to death."

Lin Siyan naturally hoped that all four children would go with Gu Yuru. It wasn't out of the goodness of her heart, but rather so that once her own child was born, it would be Li Yuan’s only offspring.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, don't say that. They are, after all, Yuan-ge's own flesh and blood."

Li Ye scoffed. "If we're talking about flesh and blood, isn't the one in your belly the same? These ones are useless; keeping them is just a waste of food." After all, a nursing infant didn't eat rice and wouldn't compete for their rations. "They’re just kids; you can always have more," Li Ye said dismissively, as if raising children were the easiest thing in the world. He didn't notice the hateful glare Lady Sun was giving him.

Li Yuan had originally kept them only to leverage the Gu family, not to saddle himself with trouble. When his gaze fell upon the children, Li Yunye shook his head. "Father, I was born a Li, and I will die a Li. I am not leaving."

"I’m not leaving either. It would be shameful for a Li child to be raised by another family," Li Yunjue added, raising an eyebrow.

Li Mumu nodded vigorously. "If my brothers aren't leaving, Mumu isn't leaving either. I want my father; Father loves Mumu the most."

Li Yunchao took a deep breath, afraid he might burst out laughing. "Father, please don't send us away."

"Then go gather more firewood later. The humidity is high tonight, and there might be wild beasts roaming; the fire must not go out."

Li Yunchao looked at his younger siblings. "Understood, we’ll go right now."

"I’m going too!" Gu Yu chimed in, bouncing along behind them—not for any other reason than that his family would get to eat something good again.

Once the little ones had walked a short distance, they gathered together.

"Big Brother, did you see Father’s face? It was practically turning green," Li Yunjue laughed.

They had all grown up by their mother's side. Their father was rarely home, and when he did return, he was always critical of them—let alone after this incident where he had wronged their sister, punished their eldest brother, and driven their mother away. None of the three brothers were unable to distinguish right from wrong, so they naturally sided with their mother.

"I have a feeling he’s going to try to drive us away again," Li Yunye chuckled.

Li Yunchao’s eyes flashed. "It won’t be that easy. Since he wants to keep us, let him learn that it is easy to invite a spirit in, but hard to send it away."

"Hurry back home, everyone. My parents keep asking me how I manage to get so many good things, and I don't know what to say. I can't tell them my cousin found them," Gu Yu said, scratching his hair. "Cousin, how are you so lucky? We all went out, but only you could find these things."

Li Yunjue and Gu Yu were around the same age, and when they walked together, they were often mistaken for twins. "Mumu is a lucky star; she’s not the jinx they say she is."

"Exactly, they’re all wrong," Gu Yu laughed.

"Let’s hurry and see if we can find anything else tasty. I’m starving."

At their age, during a growth spurt, who could possibly be full after just a bowl of thin porridge?

As for what to eat tonight, Li Mumu was worried. While her brothers were busy gathering firewood, she ducked into her secret space to see what she could pull out—something that wouldn't look out of place but would still be delicious. She searched for a long time before a brilliant idea struck her.

"Mumu, hurry up!"

Li Mumu responded and ran over. Li Yunchao reached out his hand. "It’s getting darker, and the path is hard to navigate. Big Brother will hold your hand. What’s that in your hand?"

"A white radish," Li Mumu said in her tiny, milky voice.

"A white radish?" Li Yunchao looked at it suspiciously. Since when were white radishes this small? Besides, this was a desolate, uninhabited area—who could have planted it? He leaned in closer and shouted in surprise, "Come here, everyone, quickly!"

"Big Brother, what is it?"

"Cousin, wait for me!" Little chubby Gu Yu tripped over his short legs before scrambling over to join them.

"Look, this is ginseng. Mumu found it."

Li Mumu shook her head. "White radish."

"Fine, fine, Mumu. If you say it's a white radish, then it's a white radish." Li Yunchao stroked her hair with doting eyes. "Cousin, take this and give it to Second Aunt secretly. We should be passing by a town tomorrow; find a way to sell it, and we can buy some more supplies."