Chapter 9: The Pest Control Success, Preparing to Set the House Ablaze!

Chapter 9

The Next Day.

At dawn, Li Feng was already awake.

He had important matters to attend to, so he rose earlier than usual.

Pushing open the door, the fresh morning air filled his nostrils, instantly clearing his mind.

From the direction of the kitchen, thin wisps of smoke rose from the chimney.

Li Feng was surprised—who could have gotten up so early?

He stepped toward the kitchen and saw a small figure busy at work inside.

Dayi and Erniu were tending the fire and chopping wild vegetables respectively; it looked like they were preparing wild vegetable dumplings.

“Father, why are you up so early?” Dayi asked nervously, glancing at Li Feng. She hadn’t even made breakfast yet.

Seeing them so busy, Li Feng frowned. “I told you all to rest a bit more. Why are you up already?”

“I…” Dayi hesitated.

Grandfather and Grandmother were clearly upset.

If she got up earlier and prepared breakfast, even if Grandfather and Grandmother were angry, they probably wouldn’t hit them, right?

Big Brother and Second Brother were better off; after eating breakfast, they went to work the fields and, being the family labor force, Grandmother wouldn’t have laid hands on them even if she was angry.

Third Brother was clever and agile; Grandmother rarely managed to catch him.

But she, Second Sister, and the two younger brothers were staying at home. If anything was done wrong there, Grandmother would surely hit them. Yesterday had already been tough.

They had eaten roast chicken and white steamed buns—the best food she had ever tasted in her life.

Mother had said people should be content, and she was very satisfied.

“Ah!”

Seeing Dayi’s worried face, Li Feng shook his head and turned to leave the kitchen.

When he returned, he carried a cloth bag, which he handed to Dayi. “Heat this up quickly!”

“Sanniu, go wake up your older brothers.”

“Got it!” Sanniu’s eyes were fixed on the meat buns as he awaited Li Feng’s order. Now that Father had spoken, he vanished like the wind in an instant.

Dayi’s eyes widened.

More white meat buns.

Did Father not save any money?

How much would all this cost?

Clutching the cloth bag tightly, Dayi took a deep breath. Well, might as well eat. At least the food was going into their own family’s stomachs, better than going to the cheap uncles or third uncles.

When the money ran out, things would return to how they were before. It seemed like no loss at all.

Not long after—

Inside the kitchen, Li Feng took out a water container from this era and poured out some milk, giving each of them a bowl. “Eat quickly!”

He spoke, and the group of kids devoured the food like hungry wolves.

Though their movements were rough, they didn’t make much noise.

Moreover, each one considered the others around them—the older ones allowed the younger ones to eat first, and the younger ones weren’t greedy, showing true brotherly respect.

The buns he brought were specially portioned; now was not the time to eat too much. Five meat buns were already enough.

They were small enough for Li Feng to eat one in a single bite.

If the little ones couldn’t finish theirs, they could give them to the older ones.

Together with a bottle of milk, breakfast was ample—much better than the wild vegetable bread they had eaten before.

They couldn’t eat too much at once; it wouldn’t be good for their stomachs.

After the meal, Daniu and Erniu conscientiously cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks.

Second Sister continued preparing breakfast for Mrs. Li Wang and Old Li.

Sanniu, however, went to the privy after eating, then approached Li Feng under the jujube tree, pale and trembling. “Father, I…I…”

He shivered for a long time but couldn’t say what was troubling him.

“What’s wrong?” Li Feng asked, puzzled.

Suddenly, Sanniu knelt down with a thud, suppressing his fear and speaking with a sob, “Father, your son is unfilial. I’m afraid I won’t be able to serve you much longer.”

“Son… I think I won’t survive!”

Li Feng: “???”

What was going on?

Why the sudden talk of death?

He had planned to raise these kids well and then live a peaceful retirement. What had happened now?

Had he accidentally killed his own children?

Li Feng panicked and immediately stood up, helping the boy up.

At the same time, he distracted himself by searching the system’s shop for any special medicine that could save a life.

Damn it, he knew it—he wasn’t cut out for raising kids. What was he going to do now?

“Father, I had worms inside me. I just pulled one out!” Sanniu said.

“It was so big and long. Father, am I going to die?”

Li Feng hastily stopped fiddling with the system and looked at Sanniu’s pale face, his own expression twitching.

Worms?

What to do? He really wanted to give him a stern talking-to.

They had given them a deworming pill last night that worked internally. In theory, there shouldn’t be any worms left to come out.

Just after finishing a meal, to suddenly discuss such a topic—Li Feng found it unbearable.

He bought a few more deworming pills and shoved them into Sanniu’s mouth. “It’s nothing. You won’t die.”

“Really?” Sanniu’s tears turned to laughter.

He wasn’t going to die?

“Really.” Li Feng sighed, patting his head to comfort him.

After calming Sanniu down, Li Feng turned to look at Erniu and Dago, who also looked pale. Slapping his forehead, Li Feng guessed the medicine’s effect wasn’t strong enough; there were too many worms in their bodies.

He gave each of them two more deworming pills and soothed them as well.

Then he went to Old Li’s room and unlocked the door.

“Father, Second Sister has already prepared breakfast. It’s just warming in the pot. When you wake up, you can eat with Mother.”

“The little rascals made Mother angry yesterday. I punished them by not letting them eat breakfast. You and Mother should both calm down.”

“Mother was injured yesterday. I was very worried. I plan to take them up to the mountain. Big Brother and Second Brother are grown now; I intend to teach them hunting. We won’t be back for lunch, so I entrust you to take care of Mother.”

“When I return from hunting, I’ll bring a doctor for Mother.”

Having finished speaking, Li Feng stepped back and took out some phosphorous powder he had bought from the shop. Inside the kitchen, he sprinkled it in a spot where it wouldn’t ignite immediately.

This powder had a very low ignition point. When Old Li came in at midday to start the fire for cooking, the rising temperature would ignite the powder.

Since no one would be cooking, there was no use keeping the kitchen as it was—might as well burn it all down.

***

Li Family Village.

A vast area, densely populated.

Counting carefully, there were over a hundred households.

The village had more than a thousand people.

It was considered a large village.

The houses were close together, and Old Li’s family was relatively well-off. Their yard was spacious, and even the thatched houses formed a two-compound courtyard.

If it were just him and the two elders, the living space would have been more than enough.

But Old Li and Mrs. Li Wang were biased. They gave the two excellent and spacious side rooms, apart from the main house, to Big Brother and Third Brother.

They made the second family live in the damp southern house, and Dayi and Second Sister didn’t even have a proper place to stay.

Their clothes were all patched repeatedly, the original fabric barely recognizable.

Li Feng couldn’t stand it and didn’t want to wear hand-me-downs, so he bought a set of clothes from the system’s shop that resembled the ragged attire he used to wear.

This set looked no different from old clothes and no one suspected anything.

After bathing, changing clothes, and moving to another room, Li Feng felt refreshed.

Upon stepping out, Dago and Erniu each carried an axe and a machete, with a basket strapped to their backs, walking ahead to lead the way for Li Feng.

Sanniu and Fourth and Fifth Brother brought up the rear, with Sanniu mainly watching over the younger brothers.

Dayi and Second Sister stayed close to Li Feng, their eyes bright and energetic—completely different from before.

“Grassroots, heading out?”

At that moment, a man about Li Feng’s age approached.

“Uncle Tang!” The group of kids stopped and greeted the man respectfully.

…