Yang Ruxin was unaware of the brothers’ conversation, as she had already returned to eat breakfast with her siblings. The only issue she encountered was when she looked at Xun Hui—it simply wasn’t right to leave her alone in the house. However, she had just promised her siblings they would all go to town, and failing to keep a promise to children is not good.
"Big sister, I’ll stay behind," Erni offered proactively. "After all, there will be other opportunities to go."
"Second sister, I’ll stay..." Sanni glanced at Yang Ruxin. Although she was reluctant, she also spoke up.
"I can stay to look after mom," Xiaofeng lifted his eyes to Yang Ruxin. "I can take good care of her..."
"I’ll stay too..." Sini raised her little hand high. "Xiaofeng and I aren’t strong enough to carry things, but we can take care of mom together."
Yang Ruxin immediately smiled with relief. How considerate were these sisters of hers, making her love them all the more? She couldn’t help but stretch out her hand to pinch each of her siblings’ cheeks. "Hey, it’s just a trip to town, right? Our family is lacking so many things. Not only do we need to go there today and tomorrow, but we’ll likely go frequently in the future, so there’s no need for competition or excessive modesty..."
"Yeah," Erni smiled. "So, I’ll stay today and go tomorrow... Let big sister take you guys to town to have a good look around today..."
"Agreed," Sanni was also reassured.
"Alright, grab your baskets, and let’s go," Yang Ruxin rallied her siblings. "But when we get to town later, you can’t run off by yourselves. We need to buy quite a few things today, and if I lose sight of you, we could run into trouble with kidnappers..."
The children nodded vigorously.
Yet, as soon as they stepped out of the door, they saw Li Xiang running over in a hurry. "Dani, Sanni..."
"Xiaoxiang, what’s the matter? You seem so rushed..." Yang Ruxin’s heart sank at the sight of Li Xiang, sensing something wasn’t right.
"Your grandma found out about the silver from the Black Bear..." Li Xiang panted heavily. "My mom just heard the commotion from next door before dawn. Now..." Swallowing her saliva, she continued, "Your grandma is bringing people this way, you guys better hide..."
"What should we do?" Erni’s face turned pale upon hearing this.
Yang Ruxin’s expression darkened. It looked like they wouldn’t make it to town today. She glanced at Li Xiang, "Thank you. You should go back first, don’t let my grandma see you, or your family will get scolded too..."
"But what about you..." Li Xiang wore a look of concern.
"Don’t worry, we’ve already divided the inheritance. If they want to encroach upon us, they’ll have to see if I agree," Yang Ruxin’s lips curled into a cold smile.
Li Xiang wanted to say more, but seeing the expression on Yang Ruxin’s face, she was at a loss for words. Instead, she went over to take Sini’s and Xiaofeng’s hands. "Then I’ll take them over to my place for a while."
"I won’t leave," Sini shook her head, pulling her hand back.
"I won’t leave either," Xiaofeng also shook his head, his little face tense. "I’m the only man in the house, I can’t leave..."
Seeing Xiaofeng’s demeanor, Yang Ruxin would have laughed if the mood had been different. The four-year-old insisting he was the man of the house was endearing, yet it also made her feel bittersweet. He was a child who had been through too much already. She then smiled at Li Xiang. "Let them stay. We won’t have any problems."