After my luck was stolen, I led my whole family to defy fate and change our destiny.

Chen Xining nodded with satisfaction and patted the child on the back of the head: "You won this round."

Gu Ziming burst into tears.

"Second brother, how did I lose? Waaah... I'm not convinced! I don't want to eat this rice!"

Gu Liyao became more serious: "A bet is a bet, and if you win, you get a chicken leg, but if he wins, you get the rice you're supposed to eat anyway. Didn't you see? He's letting you win."

Gu Ziming cried even harder.

The little boy scratched the back of his head shyly.

Gu Liyao smiled and asked the little boy, "How much New Year's money did you receive?"

The little boy said shyly, "I've been saving up those ten coins for a long time."

Gu Liyao nodded and took out ten coins from his purse: "A bet of ten coins is fair. Here, take it."

The little boy looked at Aunt Liu and then at Chen Xining, his eyes seeming to ask, "Should I take it or not?"

Seeing that Gu Zimo was unhappy, Aunt Liu smiled and said, "Oh, no need, it's just children playing around."

"Aunt Liu, there should be rules among children too."

"Then when you handle this, make sure it doesn't ruin the harmony."

Chen Xining gave Gu Liyao a meaningful look, then said to the little boy, "Take what your brother gave you."

The little boy grinned from ear to ear: "Thank you, Brother Liyao! Thank you, Brother Zimo!"

"Wow wow wow wow... He's even younger than me!"

Gu Ziming's self-esteem suffered an unprecedented blow.

Gu Liyao: "..."

"Yeah, that makes it even more embarrassing."

"Waaaaah..." Gu Ziming cried out to the heavens.

Gu Linglong glanced at her third brother with disdain. [Tsk, he has the nerve to cry after losing to someone younger than him. He's older, has better learning conditions, and better food and clothing than the other person. Even so, he still can't beat them.]

[He's not as sensible or intelligent as the little boy; he can't compare in anything except for his family background. He might as well just find a block of tofu and kill himself.]

How dare you complain about brown rice? If our family were exiled, you wouldn't even have brown rice porridge to drink; you'd be eating tree bark every day.

"Waaaaaah..." He didn't want to chew on the book cover.

Gu Liyao covered his ears, letting his younger sister scold him a little longer.

[This is so inconsiderate! Can we get rid of this third brother? I want that little boy from earlier to be my third brother. I like older brothers who are both sensible and strong, not weaklings.]

[Let the third brother and the elder brother buy a block of tofu and kill themselves.]

Gu Ziming's sobs faltered, but he refused to stop.

He sat down and started eating, bite by bite. He found it hard to swallow but insisted on eating, sobbing and tears streaming down his face.

He didn't want to be disliked by his sister, and he refused to believe he couldn't compete. After lunch, the group left in a carriage.

Chen Xining helped pack, and Aunt Liu nudged Chen Xining's arm: "What do you think of Young Master Gu?"

Chen Xining, puzzled, said, "Very good. Polite, good-looking, kind-hearted, and from a good family."

Aunt Liu looked at her with a smile.

Chen Xining realized what was happening and felt a chill run down her spine: "Aunt Liu, don't try to play matchmaker! Marriage is a serious matter, decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers, and it must be between equals. A man of Mr. Gu's social standing would never marry a daughter from a family like ours."

Chen Xining lowered her eyes: "Besides, even families with similar backgrounds to mine don't even look at me, let alone Gu Jia. I don't even dare to think about it."

Aunt Liu smiled and said, "What are you thinking? I was just asking how he is. I wonder if he'll open his own clinic after he finishes his apprenticeship. Some of the children in our charity want to study medicine. Do you think he might take them in as assistants?"

Chen Xining realized she had misunderstood, her ears instantly turning bright red, her feet digging tightly into the ground: "Oh, if he has talent, Young Master Gu should take him in, right?"

"I...I'm all packed up and I'm leaving now," Chen Xining said hurriedly.

...

"Brother, why are you here?"

Gu Yu'an lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Gu Liyao and the others.

"I was a little worried because Linglong slept for so long yesterday, so I came to check on her."

"Oh, it's alright, I've taken good care of you," Gu Liyao said as he boarded the carriage.

Inside the spacious carriage, Gu Liyao told him about the restaurant. Gu Yu'an clenched his fists on his knees and said, "Shen Qingqing is a doctor; we need to be careful of her. You were a bit reckless bringing Linglong along today."

Gu Liyao: "I understand."

Gu Ziming sat in a corner of the carriage without saying a word.

"Zimo, what's wrong?"

Gu Ziming looked up at his older brother, then looked down again, walked over and hugged Gu Yu'an's waist: "Big brother, am I really that bad?"

"..." Actually, there is a little bit, but it needs to be done through encouragement.

"How could that be? You're the best in my brother's eyes."

Gu Ziming's eyes instantly turned red: "You're lying."

He glanced at the sleeping Gu Linglong and whispered, "My little sister scolded me today. She told me to buy a block of tofu and kill myself."

Gu Yu'an chuckled softly: "So? What happened?"

Gu Ziming briefly explained the whole story.

Gu Yu'an nodded: "It's not important to lose face temporarily. What's scary is losing face for a lifetime. How can you save the Gu family if you don't study hard? How can your little sister like you?"

Remembering his sister's words, Gu Ziming's eyes hardened. "Big brother, I know what to do."

On the way back to the mansion by carriage, the sounds of people talking could be heard from time to time.

"The weather is hotter than usual; it hasn't rained in ages."

"That's right, if it doesn't rain soon, there might be no harvest this year."

"Isn't that right? Grain prices have already gone up by 20%, if they rise any higher, we won't be able to afford food."

"Sigh...why doesn't the government do anything about it?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. Do you have a death wish? Why don't you hurry up and stock up on some food while prices aren't so outrageous yet?"

"You're right, I'll go buy a little bit of all kinds of grains."

"Hurry, hurry, or we'll be too late!"

Gu Yu'an lowered the curtain and sighed silently. Whether it was those in power scheming for authority or natural disasters, it was the common people who suffered the most.

I wonder when it will finally rain.

After getting off the carriage, Gu Yu'an carried Gu Linglong back and handed her over to Chunhe. Gu Linglong turned her big eyes and looked at the sky and her surroundings.

Suddenly a large rooster flew out, flapping its wings and clucking incessantly, while the servants chased after it frantically.

"Quick, grab it!"

"It flew that way."

"Quickly stop it! Don't let it fly towards the young master and young lady!"

The servant grabbed a net and pounced on it. Startled, the rooster flew directly onto Gu Linglong, and the two stared at each other.

What are you doing? Get off the plane!

Chunhe screamed in fright, but dared not move. Gu Yu'an was also slapped by the rooster's wing, but he didn't care and tried to take the rooster down by pulling on its wing.

The rooster, however, held onto Gu Linglong tightly, as if protecting its own eggs.

What's wrong with this rooster? Why is it hugging me?

[She doesn't think I'm its cub, does she?]

Wang Fugui placed his small hand to his lips: "Could it be that the rooster was attracted to you and wanted to mate with you because of the spirit beast aura you unconsciously emitted?"

ha?

mating?

She's a human being now; this is utterly morally depraved.

No, she wouldn't be looking for a chicken even when she's in her white tiger form. Who does she think she is?