Chapter 28: Who Is Touching Her Bottom

"Big cousin, you are truly clever."

Li Yunchao gave a faint smile. "Remember..."

Before he could finish, Gu Yu cut in, "I know, we can't let it be known that cousin found it, lest the Li family comes to snatch it."

Finding ginseng was certainly cause for joy, but little chubby Gu Yu was still a bit worried. "Sigh, we're still going to go hungry tonight."

Go hungry? That was impossible. Li Mumu had already figured it out.

After Gu Yu tucked the ginseng away, he insisted that Li Mumu take him to see the spot where she found the "white radish," in case there was another one. Sadly, there were no more radishes, but he finally had a stroke of luck. He was so excited he could barely speak clearly. "Cou... cousin, quick... come here."

The brothers hadn't walked far and soon arrived at the spot. It was actually a large nest of eggs, about the size of chicken eggs, with dozens of them by rough estimation.

"We're rich, we're rich!" Gu Yu grinned from ear to ear. "Hehe, so I do have good luck sometimes."

Wild eggs paired with the wild vegetables from lunch and some goat milk made for a delicious meal. Li Mumu genuinely wanted her brothers to taste the delicacies from her spatial storage, but unfortunately, they weren't "legitimately acquired," and her brothers were clever enough that it would raise suspicions.

When Gu Yu returned, he didn't dare run this time, fearing he would trip and break all the eggs, which would be embarrassing. Soon, the Gu family was delighted that the little one had managed to get so many wild eggs. There were so many that they couldn't possibly eat them all at once; even one a day would last them for several days.

"Useless, a bunch of useless trash! Are the four of you blind? If your eyes aren't working, are your hands and feet useless too?" Old Madam Li sniffed the aroma of the scrambled eggs, her mouth watering uncontrollably.

The siblings weren't angry. Li Yunjue, the youngest, had a sharp tongue. "Grandmother, we just aren't as sharp-eyed as our cousin. If we had known, we should have let you go instead."

Old Madam Li was exhausted; once she stopped, she didn't want to take another step. However, thinking of how the Gu family always had something good to eat, she muttered, "Fine, I'll go! I don't believe for a second that only the Gu family can find food."

Li Yunjue nodded with a smile. "Yes, yes, if Grandmother goes, you will surely find something good."

Once the Gu family had finished their meal, they naturally shared some eggs with the siblings. Since it had come to this, what difference did it make whether they went to the Gu family or not? They could eat from both households.

"Grandmother, Mother, I have another treasure," Gu Yu beckoned them over mysteriously.

Hearing the word "treasure," Old Madam Li's eyes lit up, and Lin Siyan straightened her back, eager to see what it was. Unfortunately, the Gu family blocked their view with their bodies. After some whispering, the faces of the Gu family members broke into smiles. How could they not be happy? Half their money had been taken by the Li family, but now, selling this ginseng would bring in a tidy sum.

After the ginseng was put away, the Gu family dispersed. Old Madam Li craned her neck but saw nothing. Still, out of curiosity, she wouldn't give up. "What kind of treasure? How can there be treasure in this godforsaken place?"

Old Madam Gu gave a faint smile. "Some people mistake fish eyes for pearls; naturally, they can't recognize a true treasure."

Old Madam Li understood the jab and curled her lip. "What is there to show off? Haven't we all ended up in this state? I think it's just a trick. If it were a real treasure, why wouldn't they dare bring it out for us to see?"

Song Qiang sneered, "You want to see it? We won't show you, just to spite you." Since the two families were no longer relatives, what kind of nonsense elder was she? A grumpy old hag like her didn't deserve respect.

Old Madam Li was indeed a shrew who wouldn't listen to reason, but that was only because others usually didn't bother to argue with her. When people stood their ground, her antics were useless. Left speechless and fuming, she went to sleep. However, just after lying down, she needed to relieve herself from drinking too much thin porridge.

The sky was pitch black, and Old Madam Li didn't dare go too far. After all, her grandson had just been bitten to death by a venomous snake. Life was bitter, but living was better than dying, and she was still waiting for her son to make a comeback so she could continue being a noble lady. She didn't care how thick the grass was; if anyone dared to look at her, they were shameless.

She squatted down, and after a moment of relief, as she prepared to pull up her pants, she felt something furry against her backside. She thought it was just country grass and didn't pay it any mind. But as she stood up, the "grass" seemed to grow taller, still brushing against her rear.

How could grass grow taller?

She turned to look, and that one glance scared half her soul away. It took her a long time to find her voice. "Ah! What is that? Help! Help me!"

She ran while pulling up her pants, the chains on her feet clanking loudly. She tripped over a stone and fell flat on her face. By the time she tried to get up, the massive, dark creature had caught up to her.

"Help! Help me!"

As soon as she let out her first scream, both families looked over. Li Mumu wasn't surprised at all. Although this wasn't the wolf pack attack from the novel—which was still a month away—weren't wild beasts common in such places?

Even when she saw the massive beast, she was quite excited. Li Yunchao had already stepped in front to shield his younger siblings, soothing them softly, "Don't be afraid."

Li Mumu wanted to say she wasn't afraid at all; her mind was currently filled with images of steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted flower duck, roasted chick, roasted gosling...

Gu Mingjing had already called the four children over; he knew that if they stayed with the Li family, no one would care about their safety.

Lin Siyan was terrified. "Yuan-ge, I'm scared~"

Li Yuan shielded her behind him, his eyes fixed on his mother, who had collapsed on the ground in terror. "What are you all standing there for? Go save Mother!"

Li Sheng kept backing away. "How... how can I save her? You haven't gone either, have you?"

"That's right, aren't you a Great General? You go!"

The duty officer was already asleep, and those off-duty were in their tents. "Officer, officer, come quickly! Someone's going to die!" Li Yuan shouted. Never mind that he was wearing shackles; even if he weren't, he might not have a chance against such a behemoth.

The duty officer was jolted awake. Seeing them still awake in the middle of the night, he shouted crossly, "What are you making noise for? Why aren't you sleeping? You want a beating?"

"A bear! There's a black bear!"

"What the hell?" The officer jumped three feet high in fright. His sleepy eyes widened like copper bells when he saw the giant creature not far away, and he immediately ran behind a large tree to hide.

"Save... save me~" Old Madam Li kept shuffling her bottom along the ground.

The black bear didn't attack yet; perhaps it was repulsed by her stench or hadn't figured out what she was.

Li Yuan couldn't just watch his mother die. "Hurry and unlock me! Quickly!"

The officers nodded in a panic, but with a whole ring of keys, they couldn't figure out which one belonged to Li Yuan.