Chapter 152 - 152:  150: Elderly Mr. Di’s Choice and Di Xuan’s Ambition

“Father, what do you need Sisi for?”

Liu Sisi asked softly.

Old Mr. Di’s hand trembled for a long time before he managed to pull out a wallet from under his pillow, gesturing for Liu Sisi to take it.

“This is… the only money left for my Di family. I’ve been carrying it with me to avoid being robbed, it’s not good to always… draw attention. Today, I’ll give this… silver to you as a compensation for what Third Son didn’t get when the family divided the property.”

Old Mr. Di’s breathing was somewhat irregular, and it was clear that he hadn’t recovered from the sudden change.

“Father, Sisi can’t accept this cloth bag.”

Liu Sisi quickly refused.

The original money in the old house was gone, and now Father was taking out the last bit of money for self-protection and giving it as compensation. How could she accept it?

“Sisi! You’ve seen the mess this family is in. Now I don’t feel safe keeping the money anywhere, so I’d rather give it to you. In the future! I don’t know, maybe when Father gets old, you can use this money to bury my old bones…”

As Elderly Mr. Di spoke, he choked up and couldn’t say anything.

Liu Sisi was also very sad. She took a few steps forward and gently pushed the cloth bag back into Elderly Mr. Di’s hands.

“Father, don’t worry! Showing filial piety to our parents is what children should do. Ye Lei and I are young and can slowly earn more money without silver. You keep this money for self-protection, and if you need anything, just let us know.”

As Liu Sisi spoke, she took out some prepared medicinal materials from her arms and handed them to Elderly Mr. Di.

“Here’s some gastrodia, codonopsis, and caterpillar fungus, not much, but it can help nourish Father’s body.”

These medicinal materials were part of the education gift from the Gan Family.

Now, giving them to Elderly Mr. Di to nourish his body, they were all being used.

“This…”

Old Mr. Di couldn’t help it, and tears rolled down his cheeks. He tightly held the medicinal materials in his hand, unable to speak.

As she stepped out of the room, Liu Sisi saw Ms. Zhao standing at the doorway. Ignoring her evasive gaze, Liu jumped straight past her.

At the opening of the well, Di Yelei was whispering with Di Ruoning.

His eyebrows and eyes were full of smiles, and it was clear that he cared a lot about his little sister, and the two had a close relationship.

As for Di Ruoning’s attitude towards him, it was also very gentle, and her laughter came from the corner of the courtyard now and then, piercing Liu Sisi’s eyes.

Liu Sisi didn’t say anything from the beginning to the end. Out of her female intuition, she always found a hint of subtle hostility from this seemingly gentle and sweet little sister.

But when she looked carefully, she found nothing.

Maybe she was overthinking it?

She frowned.

As the day was getting dark, Di Yelei took the time to bring the two children back from Guihua’s house. As soon as the children arrived at the Di Family, they went straight to Liu Sisi, sticking close to her.

Liu Sisi helped cook the meal, and today, there were no surprises. The whole family enjoyed a happy meal together after a long time.

Liu Sisi looked up at the sky, the sun was about to set, and the baby chicks, rabbits, Ah-Huang, and the flowers at home hadn’t been taken care of. It was time to go back.

She called Xuan’er and Ying’er, and then got up to leave and returned home.

“Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, why don’t you leave the nephew and niece with me tonight? Let them accompany their young aunt a little longer? If they get sleepy, they’re welcome to stay in the old house.”

“No, that won’t do. You’re pregnant now, and it would be terrible if you accidentally hurt your belly. How can you squeeze in with a child?” Without waiting for Liu Sisi to respond, Di Yelei immediately refused.

“I remember that Third Brother never used to refuse Little Sister’s requests…”

Di Ruoning’s smile gradually faded.

“You! This is not an ordinary matter, whenever have I not agreed to your requests when I could?”

There was a rare tenderness in Di Yelei’s voice, which left Liu Sisi momentarily stunned.

Di Ruoning immediately chuckled: “I knew it, you’re the best Third Brother for Ruoning!”

“It’s late today, why don’t you stay here for a few more days? I’ll go up to the mountain and hunt some more game for our meals.”

Di Yelei patted his chest boldly, the perfect image of a good elder brother.

“Pfft!”

Di Ruoning laughed even more, “Oh my, Third Brother! You are not like when we were young, when you provided for the whole family. Now you have a wife and children, where could you still indulge me like you did when we were kids? Third Sister-in-law, don’t you agree?”

While speaking, she suddenly turned and directed the topic at Liu Sisi.

Liu Sisi blinked, glanced at the people around who were enjoying the show, and then smiled, “Little Sister, you are a mother now too, how can you still be jealous of Xuan’er and YingEr?”

After saying that, without waiting for Di Ruoning to respond, she took the hands of the two children and said with a smile, “Xuan’er, YingEr, hurry up and say goodnight to your little aunt, so we can go home.”

The two children also obediently called out in unison, “Goodnight, little aunt.”

Di Ruoning’s smile froze on her face.

The family said their goodbyes and happily went home.

“Dad! Dad! Are you going hunting in the mountains tomorrow? Can you take Xuan’er with you? Today, Xuan’er heard Zhang Yun say that next time he goes hunting, Uncle Zhang will take him too.”

Di Xuan happily jogged to Di Yelei’s side, pestering him about hunting.

Zhang Yun was ten years old, and it was time for him to learn hunting skills.

“You can’t! You’re only seven years old, and your arm strength isn’t enough, making you prone to injuries. At the earliest, you can go when you’re eight. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be learning to read with Sisi? Are you planning to give up?” Di Yelei joked.

“I will never give up! In the future, I will definitely become like Eldest Uncle, leave Upper Village, and become a high-ranking official!” Di Xuan clenched his small fists, his voice almost like a vow.

Liu Sisi couldn’t help but laugh.

“Mom, why doesn’t little aunt like YingEr?”

Being held by Liu Sisi, YingEr couldn’t help but whisper into her ear.

Liu Sisi was taken aback, “YingEr, how could you think that?”

YingEr wrapped her small arms around Liu Sisi’s neck, rested her head on her shoulder, and shook her head, “I don’t know, anyway…I just feel that little aunt doesn’t like YingEr.”

YingEr was still young, only four years old. When she said ‘feel’, she probably meant intuition, or maybe her first impression?

These poor two children, every time they come to the old house, they are always on edge and completely lose their liveliness.

Liu Sisi gently stroked YingEr’s head and patted her back, not saying anything.

“Mom! What YingEr said is true! Little aunt really doesn’t like YingEr, and she glares at me when no one else is looking!”

YingEr raised her head stubbornly, pouted her small mouth, and looked hurt.