"Brother Liu... I really want to go to Prefectural City. It's good to gain experience and knowledge, isn't it?" Chen Mi tried his best to convince his brother Liu using every trick he knew. Though he hardly ever acted like a spoiled child, his two older brothers could never withstand the impact whenever he acted wilfully.
Sure enough, Ye Liu's heart softened as he finally agreed, "Very well, it's good to have a mule carriage at home. After all, we have to take more trips to the town in the future, since Yu Dong's space is really good. We should harvest more green vegetables, hunt more meat, and keep them there. If we sell fresh meat and vegetables in the winter, we might make more money. As for going to the Prefectural City, it's alright, I guess. Since we all have the plan to move out of the village sometime in the future, we should look around for a decent place to settle."
Ye Liu didn't say that he had seen Yu Dong suffer in the village. Usually, they could ask Aunt Wang to help them out, but Aunt Wang was also a busy woman. She had two daughters and a mer child to care for, so she was generally busy. On those days, if Yu Dong had to go to the town, she always failed to get a carriage for herself and walked to the town. Though the town wasn't far away, it was still at a reasonable distance. Ye Liu didn't pay attention to these things before because he thought that as long as he was suffering, it was good that Yu Dong was suffering as well.
But then the current Yu Dong joined the family. Even though she never complained, Ye Liu felt really angry whenever the villagers teased and taunted her when they drove past Yu Dong on an ox cart. It was really frustrating! If not for the sake of taking business away from Aunt Wang, Ye Liu too would have bought an ox cart! Though having a carriage of any kind was good enough.
Yu Dong saw through Ye Liu, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she was delighted. It was good to have people worrying about her! Back then, when she was in her world, she was the one who constantly worried about others. No one would take care of her, even her irresponsible parents - the two of them were so engrossed in their research that they hardly even returned home. Even a single visit in a year was too much to expect from them. She really hoped now that she was gone, her parents were taking good care of her brothers.
"Alright then -"
"Oh wait, where is brother Li? Is he sick?" Ye Liu, who began his breakfast finally, looked around and was surprised to see that the early riser of their family was still asleep. "Is he alright? Shall I check on him?"
Yu Dong, the culprit, coughed and felt her ears warm up. She hurriedly stopped Ye Liu. If the latter really went inside Shen Li's room and saw the sight of the completely 'eaten' Shen Li, she would have to explain what happened. It would be too embarrassing not for her but for Shen Li, whose skin was just this thick. "He is fine. It's just that we walked around the village last night, and he is tired now, so don't disturb him."
Ye Liu didn't doubt her, Yu Dong and Shen Li returned rather late, or it could be said that they only came back around three in the morning. Most villagers were still asleep, and so was Ye Liu, so neither of them knew what happened between Yu Dong and Shen Li.
After breakfast, Yu Dong took Little bun in her arms and thoroughly bundled him up. It wasn't that she wasn't willing to take him with her, but she was slightly worried and asked him, "Are you sure you want to go? You aren't allowed to cry or fuss in the town once you get annoyed or bored, you understand?"
"abba uh ho ash ma" clutching onto his mother's pants, Little bun promised. Though Yu Dong was sure that he would definitely make a fuss once he got annoyed by the noise in the town.
"Wife, he will definitely make a fuss. Don't listen to him." Chen Mi straightforwardly put Yu Dong's worries in words. "He is such a naughty little brat. I'm certain that once he gets fed up with the hustle and bustle of the town, he will cry and beg you to bring him back home."
"You say that, but it's not like I can leave him behind," said Yu Dong as she pointed at the little koala wrapped around her front. Ye Liu, on the other hand, was trying everything in his might to pull off the sticky bun, but the sticky bun was stubborn too, not letting go of his mother. "It's like this. What can I do? Other than taking him with us?"
Chen Mi bit his lips as he too tried to put his strength into ripping Little bun off Yu Dong, but that only made the entire house noisier as Little bun cried and scolded them in his babyish voice.
"Alright, that's enough, Mi. Just take him with you," said Ye Liu. It was clear that Little bun was not going to give up, and they couldn't hurt him, so they could only compromise.
Chen Mi looked at his annoying son and suddenly felt like he had given birth to a meatloaf. How sticky can this child become? From where did he learn all this? However, he was Little bun's daddy, and he knew that his son was bullied and not liked by the villagers. This was why he always stayed at home and hardly went out, so even though he didn't want to bring Little bun with him, he couldn't harden his heart. "Fine, you can come with us."
Hearing his daddy's words, Little bun cheered up.. Still, before his smile could even completely form, Chen Mi poked his forehead and ruthlessly announced, "If you made a fuss in town, I will disown you."