Chapter 5: Our Cheap Little Brother is a Mute
Wen Yao brought him into the house and handed him a steamed bun.
Datou tilted his head, as if asking where it came from.
“Father bought it. He specifically saved one for you. Hurry up and eat.” Wen Yao stuffed the bun into his hands.
Datou stared at the bun for a moment before holding it up and handing it back to Wen Yao.
“This is for you. Why are you giving it to me?” Wen Yao asked.
Datou pushed it forward again.
“You want me to eat it?” Wen Yao asked.
Datou nodded.
Wen Yao was so touched she almost cried. Such a sweet little brother—how could that bastard Meng bear to use him as a mere tool?
“I’ve already eaten. This is yours, Datou. Eat it yourself.” Wen Yao was deeply moved. Finally, she got to be an older sister instead of the youngest sibling.
Only after confirming multiple times that Wen Yao truly wouldn’t eat it did Datou finally sit on a small stool and begin eating in tiny bites.
Afraid he might choke, Wen Yao even poured him a bowl of water.
Once Datou was settled, Wen Yao ran outside to find Wen Jun.
“Doctor Wen, could you find some time to check on our cheap little brother? He’s almost four years old, and he still can’t speak.” Although the novel had mentioned that Datou eventually did talk, it never explained why he was mute as a child. Seeing a boy this age still unable to speak made Wen Yao worry.
Wen Jun glanced inside at the tiny, round-headed child. As if sensing his gaze, Datou looked up at him as well.
Caught off guard, Wen Jun accidentally made eye contact. With no other choice, he forced what he thought was his most gentle, warm, and affectionate smile.
Fortunately, Datou only glanced at him before continuing to munch on his bun. He neither cried nor fussed nor fidgeted—an absolute model of good behavior.
“He’s way better behaved than you were at this age,” Wen Jun remarked, earning himself a hard slap on the arm from Wen Yao.
After some playful bickering, the siblings helped Wen Xiuyi sort through whatever was salvageable in the kitchen. After all, they still needed to use it the next day—relying entirely on the space for food wasn’t sustainable.
It didn’t really matter for the three of them, but now that they had Datou, they had to be more cautious.
By the time they finished and returned to the room, their well-behaved little brother had already finished his bun, taken off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and fallen asleep.
He was so independent that they didn’t even need to worry about him.
All three of them had the same thought at once—this time, no matter what, they would never let Datou be taken away by Liu Shi and that bastard Meng!
“Tomorrow, I plan to go into town and see if there’s any work I can do. Xiao Jun, you stay home and take care of your sister and brother,” Wen Xiuyi announced. His memories were the most complete, and he knew how crucial money was in this era. He wanted to see if there was any work suitable for him—after all, no matter how unreliable the original owner had been, he had still earned a scholar’s title.
Wen Jun, thinking that he was already sixteen and could help, wanted to go with him.
But Wen Xiuyi refused. “Tomorrow, you’ll stay home with your siblings. Go to the old house and ask your second and third uncles to help rebuild the stove in the kitchen. If there are enough materials, see if they can put up a shed too.”
Having no kitchen was simply too inconvenient.
Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to go, Wen Jun could only agree to stay behind and take care of his younger siblings.
Satisfied, Wen Xiuyi nodded. Looking at his youngest son, already sound asleep, he added, “We only have two rooms left now. Xiao Jun, you’ll bunk with me. Yao Yao, you’ll have to share with Datou for the time being.”
“I’m fine with that.” Wen Yao whispered, even making an “OK” hand gesture.
Wen Xiuyi shot her a glare. Good thing Datou was asleep—if someone else had seen that gesture, who knew what they’d think they were up to?
The next morning, when Wen Yao woke up, Wen Xiuyi was already gone.
Wen Jun explained, “Father left before dawn. He said it takes over an hour to walk to Yunwu Town. He told us to stay home and clean up today. He’ll find a way to make money, so we don’t have to worry.”
Wen Yao felt a pang in her chest. Her father had always been like this—no matter how difficult things were, he never found it too exhausting for his children’s sake. Even back then, despite having a full-time job at the Agricultural Research Institute, he would still wake up at five in the morning to prepare breakfast for her and Wen Jun before heading to work.
Sniffing, Wen Yao said, “Since Father is working so hard, we can’t slack off either. Let’s drop Datou off at the old house with Grandma, and then you and I will go up the mountain.”
With Datou around, taking things out of the space would be tricky. Not to mention, she didn’t even have many achievement points left.
Since they had nothing right now, they’d have to rely on the mountain and the land to sustain themselves.
Besides, the mountains had plenty of resources. Maybe they could even earn some achievement points. And with achievement points came money!
When the siblings tried to take Datou to the old house, he stood still and didn’t move. His already-thin frame made his eyes seem even bigger as he stared blankly at them. The look on his face instantly melted Wen Yao and Wen Jun’s hearts.
“Datou, be good. Big Brother and I are just going up the mountain to see if we can find some food. Be good and stay at Grandma’s, okay? We’ll pick you up as soon as we’re back,” Wen Yao coaxed gently.
Datou seemed to be considering her words. After looking at Wen Yao and Wen Jun for a while, he suddenly turned and ran back into the house. When he came back out, he was holding a small pouch, which he handed to Wen Yao.
The siblings exchanged glances.
“What’s this?”
Datou pushed the pouch forward, signaling for Wen Yao to open it.
When she did, she gasped.
“Bro, it’s money!” The pouch was filled with copper coins—at least two or three hundred of them.
They both looked at Datou in shock.
Their little brother… had been secretly stashing money?
After handing over the money, Datou sat down on the doorstep, making his intentions clear.
Now that we have money, you don’t need to send me to Grandma’s.
“……”
If Wen Yao hadn’t known in advance how smart this kid was, she might have thought he was another transmigrator like them.
But money or not, they still had to go up the mountain.
After pocketing the money, Wen Yao explained, “This is enough to last us a few days, but what happens when it’s gone? We need to find a way to make money ourselves, right? We need to rebuild the house, and Datou needs to eat well. All of that costs money. So, Datou, be good and wait for us at Grandma’s, okay?”
Datou seemed to be weighing her words. After a long moment, he finally nodded.
Wen Yao let out a sigh of relief. Facing this kid always gave her a bit of psychological pressure.
Before leaving, she took out five copper coins from the pouch and then took Datou to the old house.
The old family clearly hadn’t expected them to bring Datou back so soon.
“Grandma, my brother and I are going up the mountain to gather firewood and look for food. We’ll leave Datou here for now. Here’s five coins for his meals today.” Wen Yao handed the coins to Luo Shi.
If they wanted to mend their relationship with the old family, they couldn’t keep freeloading off them.
Luo Shi glanced at Wen Yao, then at the coins in her hand.
“Where did you get this money?” she asked.
Obviously, Wen Yao couldn’t say it was from Datou, so she lied, “Father left it for us before he left. He went to town to find work.”
Luo Shi’s face filled with surprise, as if she had just heard something unbelievable.
“Your father? You’re saying your father went to town to find a job?” She must be getting old and hard of hearing. That useless son of hers… looking for work?
