Chapter 64: You're Even More Ruthless Than a Rip-off Joint

At Lin Siyan's words, the rest of the Li family put down their bowls as well, looking at Li Mumu as if she were trying to poison them.

Li Mumu arched an eyebrow. If they refused to drink, so be it; when they contracted the plague later, they could beg her all they wanted, but it would be too late.

Without trying to persuade them further, she and her brothers took some of the medicine over to the bailiffs. If all the bailiffs died, reaching their place of exile would be nearly impossible, and even if they managed it, explaining things would be a nightmare.

Zhang Xiang had no suspicions and downed the bowl in one gulp.

"Drink up without worry. Why would Mumu ever harm us?" Li Yuan looked at Lin Siyan with displeasure. "Stop making a fuss over nothing."

"I... I just really don't believe she has such good intentions," Lin Siyan said, looking deeply wronged.

"I trust Mumu. She is my daughter."

Although Li Yuan spoke with an air of righteousness, Li Mumu was not so easily fooled. The only reason he said that was because he saw the bailiffs drink it first.

Besides, she knew full well that her scumbag of a father said it entirely for her mother's benefit, though her mother didn't even hear him.

Li Mumu handed another bowl of medicine to Xie Xun. "Drink this."

Xie Xun frowned slightly, but still drank it all in one go. The bitterness caused his handsome face to scrunch up instantly, but upon noticing a trace of obvious disdain in the little girl's eyes, he immediately regained his composure and looked much calmer.

Li Mumu let out a soft laugh. *Such a child.*

Meanwhile, the aroma of lunch drifted through the air, mouth-watering and irresistible. Xie Xun was no exception, but a person had to keep their word. Remembering what he had told the little girl, he turned his head away shyly.

As his mind cleared further, he noticed something odd: although Li Mumu bore the surname Li, she seemed to stick closely to the Gu family side, and her relationship with the Li family appeared quite strained.

Clever as he was, he could easily guess that the two families were on very bad terms.

Li Mumu took in his awkward, torn expression—desperate to eat yet too proud to admit it. Since she had brought him along, she certainly wouldn't begrudge him a bite to eat.

Besides, the crops in her spatial dimension's fields were about to yield another harvest; whatever small portion he ate wouldn't even scratch the surface of her abundance.

Old Master Gu looked at the appetizing meal before him, then glanced at the young man resting under the shade of the tree. He said in a deep voice, "Since he is traveling with us, we cannot let him starve. Yuer, go take some food to that lad."

Gu Yu was very obedient. He put down his rice bowl and went to deliver the food to Xie Xun, only to be refused.

Gu Yu's face fell. He felt a bit ashamed for failing the task his grandfather had given him, especially since his grandfather was the person he respected most in the world.

Gu Yu pouted, looking quite aggrieved as he said, "Grandfather, he said he isn't hungry."

"What nonsense is that? How can he not be hungry?" The old master frowned, his voice rising a fraction.

He certainly hadn't meant to snap at Gu Yu, but the boy didn't know that and actually burst into tears, whimpering, "Grandfather, it's all Yu's fault for not finishing the task you gave me, *sob*."

Old Madam Gu's heart ached with pity. She cast a reproachful glare at her husband, causing the old master to feel his scalp tingle. "What are you crying for? I wasn't yelling at you."

"Grandfather, let me go instead," Li Yunchao offered.

"Big Brother, let me go. If you guys take it, he definitely won't eat," Li Mumu sighed. The stubborn little brat wasn't very old, but he sure had a lot of backbone.

Still, whether it was her imagination or not, she always felt that her grandfather paid some special attention to this Xie Xun.

Although her grandfather wasn't a coarse man, he wasn't usually so meticulously observant either. Today alone, he had checked Xie Xun's injuries three times and asked her twice about his recovery progress.

Li Mumu didn't plan on asking directly. If he could talk about it, her grandfather would probably have mentioned it outright; but since it was someone her grandfather cared about, she would just take care of him.

Carrying both Xie Xun's meal and her own bowl, Li Mumu walked over to him.

Xie Xun repeated his earlier line: "Take it back. I'm not hungry."

Li Mumu nodded. "I didn't say I was giving it to you to eat."

Xie Xun's face flared bright red instantly.

Earlier, from some distance away, the aroma of the food had already made him swallow hard. Now, with the little girl eating so deliciously less than three paces away from him, no matter how strong his endurance was, he reached his breaking point.

"Once I recover a bit more, I can make my own food tonight. Since I said I wouldn't eat your things, I absolutely will not touch them."

Li Mumu paused in her chewing to give him a thumbs-up. "A man of his word! A true man, a real hero!"

With that, she continued to eat heartily, though her table manners remained graceful.

Gu Yuru watched the scene unfold, finding it equal parts funny and exasperating. "What is Mumu doing... I'll go call her back."

Before she could stand up, Old Master Gu stopped her. "There's no need. I think Mumu's method will work."

A young man's stubborn pride could only be subdued by unconventional means.

Since the old master had spoken, the others simply waited to see what would happen.

Li Mumu ate while raving about how fragrant Song Qian's cooking was, matching her words with obvious enjoyment. Xie Xun swallowed hard once more.

Although Li Mumu was young, she had been quite active all day, and her appetite was somewhat larger than that of an ordinary child. After finishing her bowl of rice, she let out a small burp, and her gaze drifted to the other bowl of food she had brought.

Xie Xun's eyes, which had been fixed on the food, met her gaze. He quickly looked away and said, "If you're not full, you can eat that one too. I really am not hungry."

Li Mumu made a funny face. "Still not hungry? I could hear your stomach rumbling from two miles away, and you've swallowed your saliva five times. If you don't eat now, you really will have to wait until tonight."

"Then I'll wait to eat tonight. I keep my word," Xie Xun said stubbornly.

He knew life in exile was no walk in the park, that the Gu family's food was limited, and that on the other side, the Li family could only survive on the handful of rice doled out by the bailiffs.

Precisely because she knew he harbored such thoughts and was simply a proud person who wanted to repay kindness, Li Mumu was willing to tease him. "Eat up. You can just pay me back later along with your medical fees. Let's count this bowl of rice as one silver tael."

"One silver tael?" Xie Xun's voice pitched upward in disbelief.

Li Mumu smiled faintly and nodded. "You've got plenty of spirit; you're recovering nicely."

"Ahem!" Xie Xun cleared his throat awkwardly. "You're charging me one silver tael for a bowl of rice?"

This was even more merciless than a highway robbery.

Gu Yuru also felt it was inappropriate. "Mumu, stop teasing the boy. She's just joking with you, eat it. We won't charge you money."

Li Mumu, however, shook her head. "Mother, I'm not joking. Is one silver tael for a bowl of rice really that much?"

It wasn't that she was foolish; she expected him to look at the circumstances. Food couldn't even be bought with money right now.

Seeing Xie Xun looking so exasperated by the little girl that he had a headache, Old Master Gu burst into hearty laughter and murmured quietly, "It just has to be Mumu."

Amidst the bewildered gazes of everyone else, Xie Xun finally picked up the bowl and began to eat with large, eager bites.

Li Mumu turned back and winked at her grandfather. "Big Brother, make a note in the ledger: Xie Xun owes me one silver tael."