"Are you out of your mind? Life is already so hard, and you still have a scholar in your family, why are you raising a girl?"
Shen Jiahao was not angry at all; instead, he proudly lifted Shen Lili up and said, "Auntie, look at my sister, she's so pretty!"
Shen Jialu patted his chest and said, "That's right, Auntie, don't worry, we can afford to raise her. At worst, the five of us brothers will each eat one less bite of food, but we'll raise our little sister no matter what!"
The remaining three boys said the same thing, their words all expressing their love for Shen Lili.
Shen Lili was still wearing the same pink outfit she wore yesterday, with her hair tied in two little buns, looking incredibly cute.
It was originally a family matter for the Shen family, and the villagers just said a few words. Seeing that the five boys were so protective of the pretty little girl, they left feeling embarrassed.
Shen Lili wrapped her arms around Shen Jiahao's neck and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Shen Jiahao was stunned. His sister kissed him!
Shen Lili looked at Shen Jiahao and giggled: "Hello, brother! I like you, brother!"
Instead of arguing with the villagers, the brothers chose to express their affection for her. This was because they were afraid that others would say they were putting on a bad face for a child they had only known for a day, and that they would subconsciously feel resentful towards her as well.
Using this strategy of retreating to advance is a win-win situation.
Lili felt that her five older brothers were not only good to her, but also quite smart!
Shen Jiahao's heart was overflowing with sweetness. Having a little sister was just too wonderful. She was so fragrant and soft, and so adorable!
Shen Jialuo jumped up immediately. Shen Lili was from the third wife's family, and his sister was clearly his sister!
"I want some too! Little sister can't favor big brother!"
Shen Jialuo took the lead, and Shen Jiaqing, who was slightly younger, also joined in the commotion. Shen Jiawen and Shen Jialu, who were older, didn't say anything, but their expressions clearly showed their anticipation.
Shen Lili gave each person a sweet kiss, showing no favoritism.
The five brothers were finally satisfied.
"My third aunt is planning to make fish soup tonight. Her cooking is the best. I can't wait for evening to come!"
Yesterday, Liu brought back two large, fat fish and two pheasants from the field. The Shen family, who hadn't eaten meat in a long time, planned to eat fish tonight.
Curiosity shone in Shen Lili's eyes. In her previous life, she had eaten a lot of delicious food, and her biggest worry here was that the food would taste bland.
Seeing the curiosity in Lili's eyes, Shen Jiahao smiled and said, "Lili, your aunt's cooking is the best in the village! I promise you'll enjoy your meal tonight!"
Shen Jialu also said, "Yes, yes, the last time I had Auntie's fish soup was last year. Li Bao, you don't know, that fish soup was so milky white, and with tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and some wild vegetables, it was so delicious!"
Shen Jialu wiped the corner of her mouth: "Second brother, please stop talking, it's making my mouth water!"
Lili ate a small bowl of porridge this morning, and now, listening to Shen Jialu's words, she was swallowing hard: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is so good?"
“That’s right!” Shen Jialu nodded heavily. “However, there has been a severe drought in the past two years, and everyone’s harvest has been poor, so they have all gone to the mountains to dig for wild food. Now the mountains are almost empty, and I don’t know if today’s fish soup will be as plentiful as last year’s.”
There are several villages nearby, and there really isn't much left on that mountain. At this point, the boys who had been so eager to eat just moments before all became dejected.
"Sigh, it's good enough to have fish to eat. Other people can't even get big, fat fish to eat!"
Lili pointed to the mountain not far away, flapped her little feet, and tugged at Shen Jiahao's sleeve: "Let's go into the mountain, let's go into the mountain!"
Shen Jiahao was a little confused, but then he realized: "Li Bao has never been to the mountains to dig for vegetables before, and wants to go to the mountains to play?"
Lili nodded heavily, "There are so many vegetables on the mountain!"
Shen Jiahao immediately decided, "Let's go, let's take my sister to play in the mountains!"
Even though there's not much left, it's worth trying your luck. What if you get incredibly lucky?
Even if we don't find anything, it would be nice to take my sister for a walk around the mountain.
The Shen family's small courtyard was not far from the foot of the mountain. The boys had been running into the mountains since they were little, and they led Lili along the usual route.
Lili was carried on Shen Jiahao's back. Although Shen Jiahao was only thirteen years old, he was no less strong than an adult man. Lili was also thin and small, and she didn't even pant after walking the whole way.
A group of children were looking around the woods with great interest. In the past, the mountain was full of wild vegetables and mushrooms, but now they had been almost completely picked clean.
Lili nestled on Shen Jiahao's back, breathing in the fresh air with great pleasure.
The little dumpling's legs swayed back and forth, and Shen Jiahao knew that Xiaolibao was in a great mood, so he became happy as well: "Is this Xiaolibao's first time going to the mountains?"
Lili nodded. Having spent her entire life studying agriculture in her previous life, she had a deep and genuine connection to nature.
Shen Jiawen and Shen Jiaqing led Shen Jialuo behind them. Looking around at the empty forest, Shen Jiawen sighed, "The drought has caused poor harvests, so people can only come to the forest to pick some wild vegetables to eat. Now there's almost nothing left in this forest."
There's nothing left?
That's not necessarily true.
Lili's gaze fell on the roots of a large tree. It had rained yesterday, and a piece of rotten wood lay among the damp, weedy soil.
"Gugu, Gugu!" Lili patted Shen Jiahao's shoulder and pointed to the tree and called out.
Shen Jialu reacted the fastest: "Mushrooms? Li Bao, are you talking about mushrooms? There are plenty of mushrooms in the mountains, but they've all been picked clean."
Seeing that her five older brothers didn't react, Li Bao became very anxious and struggled to get down.
"Li Bao, be careful, you'll fall!" Li Li was moving around a lot, and Shen Jiahao was afraid she would fall, so he had to squat down and put Li Li on the ground.
As soon as Lili touched the ground, her two short legs quickly took steps in that direction. The little dumpling couldn't walk steadily, so she used both hands and feet to climb over the fallen tree trunk and head straight there.
"Hey, Pear!"
Fearing she might run far away if she wasn't careful, Shen Jiahao quickly chased after her.
Lili ran to the tree and used her little hands to push aside the weeds, revealing a large piece of rotten wood: "Look, Guoguo, it's mushroom!"
When Shen Jiahao caught up, he saw that there really were clusters of big, yellow mushrooms on that large piece of rotten wood, each as big as two pears' hands!
"So many wild mushrooms!" Shen Jialuo exclaimed.
The four brothers who followed also saw the large patch of pale yellow mushrooms. They called these mushrooms "pheasant mushrooms," while Lili called them "broad-scaled macroporous fungi."
The broad-scaled macroporous fungus grows on rotten wood and has a delicious flavor; it's especially wonderful for making soup.
The group had only come with the intention of showing their younger sister around, but they never expected to actually find mushrooms, and so many of them at that! This huge piece of rotten wood was covered with clusters of large mushrooms, each one plump and colorful.
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