Oh no! Seven kids at the start, all yellow and skinny.

Chapter 63, Crisis

After the two little ones had run far away, Yunyi turned around and headed back home. However, she saw someone lurking around suspiciously from afar. Just as she was about to ask, the person spotted Yunyi and ran away in a flash.

Yunyi frowned. She didn't recognize the person and he probably wasn't from the village. She hurriedly entered the courtyard and saw Da Bao and his younger siblings tidying up firewood. Someone must have just delivered it.

"Mother!" Xiao Bao spotted Yun Yi first and rushed over.

When the other person was still thirty centimeters away from her, Yunyi pinned him down, then grabbed him by the back of the collar and placed him next to the well: "Little Bao is the best boy, go wash your hands, okay?"

This guy was playing in the mud just now. Those black claws of his are going to ruin my clothes if he pounces on me.

Xiao Bao waved his paws and giggled, thinking that Yun Yi was playing with him, but he still obediently put his two little hands into the basin.

The once clear well water had turned into muddy soup, but he didn't care. Instead, he kept patting the muddy water with his little hands, making mud splatter all around him, and he was happily giggling. Finally, Er Ya slapped him and made him behave.

Xiao Qibao used to be most afraid of her second sister, and she still is.

After greeting Yunyi, Xia Songshi came over and started cleaning up the mess that Xiao Qibao had made, muttering to herself.

"Stepmother." Seeing that Xiao Qibao had calmed down, Er Ya ran to Yun Yi's side. "We collected eight bundles of firewood today, totaling..."

"I trust you to keep accounts." After listening to her report, Yunyi handed over the things she was holding. "Starting tomorrow, Xia Zhuzi from the village will come to deliver these trinkets he made, five coins each. If I'm not here, you and Sanya will be in charge of collecting them..."

"What?!" Before Yunyi could finish speaking, Er Ya jumped up, "This thing costs five coins? Are you burning money?"

Yunyi was taken aback by her shout.

Er Ya seemed to realize that her attitude was not good, but she couldn't bring herself to apologize. She could only nervously clutch the hem of her clothes, not knowing what to do for a moment.

The others were also drawn over by Er Ya's voice.

Da Bao ran over first, glanced at Yun Yi, and said, "Stepmother, don't be angry with Er Ya. She didn't mean it."

"Stepmother, if you want to hit someone, hit me instead." Sanya turned around with red eyes, ready to stick her bottom out and take the beating.

Yunyi was somewhat helpless. After so many days, the children's deep-seated fear of the original owner had not dissipated: "I'm not angry, you did nothing wrong, I won't hit you."

Er Ya looked up at Yun Yi: "I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to yell at you."

"I know."

"You know you're still buying this for five coins?" Er Ya exclaimed excitedly. "I can weave this too. Actually, many people in the village can. This cattail grows in abundance at the foot of the mountain over there; it's practically worthless. And you're still buying it for five coins..."

"Five coins?" Xia Songshi was also stunned. "Yunyi, that's too expensive, this thing..."

“I know,” Yunyi nodded. “I know many people would, but this is the one Xia Zhuzi asked me to sell.”

“Xia Zhuzi?” Da Bao frowned, pondered for a moment, and then looked at Er Ya. “Er Ya, we can buy Xia Zhuzi’s straw weaving.”

Yunyi's eyes flickered.

"Big brother, why?"

“You forgot? When we first came here last year, it snowed heavily. Liu Bao ran out and got lost. He fell into a snowdrift. It was Xia Zhuzi who pulled him out. If it weren’t for him, Liu Bao probably wouldn’t be here.”

Er Ya had obviously thought of this too: "But..."

But after a long time, nothing came of it.

"But if others come to sell, should we buy them too?" After a long silence, Er Ya finally gave up.

Da Bao looked at Yun Yi: "Stepmother, should we accept them all?"

Yunyi shook her head: "No."

Da Bao laughed: "Er Ya, we won't accept them all."

"But... what if others have objections?" Er Ya was extremely conflicted.

Da Bao was also conflicted, but quickly came to terms with it: "First come, first served. We don't need that many right now."

Yunyi's lips curled up slightly; this Da Bao was indeed very clever.

Er Ya looked at Yun Yi: "Is it okay?"

Yunyi nodded: "Why not?"

"Then... then let's accept it." Er Ya breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, everyone go do what you're supposed to do." Yunyi waved her hand, then returned to her room and summoned Sixteen.

"Boss, you finally remembered me?" Sixteen ran over excitedly.

I saw someone acting suspiciously at the door just now. Who was that person?

"Huh?" Sixteen asked, somewhat bewildered. "Is anyone there?"

Yunyi just looked at it calmly.

Sixteen belatedly swallowed: "Boss, I...I didn't notice, I..."

Are you really treating yourself like a monkey? Do you think you can be a monkey forever?

Sixteen bowed its head to its claws.

Yunyi didn't say anything more, but turned around and went to do her own thing. She couldn't be content with the status quo, because this society was not one where people could be content with the status quo. Once there was war, once the court was in turmoil, without any support, there would only be death.

She wasn't actually a fourteen-year-old girl; she was a seasoned veteran who had been tempered by countless trials in three thousand minor worlds. Although she wasn't very old each time, over time, she had accumulated to the age of tens of thousands of years old, making her a monster who always planned ahead.

Although Shen Hu did not find out any specific information, many things indicated that the current stable situation would soon be broken.

Although she is stronger than the average person, she still cannot protect the elderly and seven children at once.

Sixteen knew he might have disappointed his boss. After becoming a monkey, he became much less vigilant and even forgot his responsibilities.

But can we blame it?

The eldest doesn't rely on it anymore.

This makes it often think that it is just a monkey.

Boss, I was wrong.

What went wrong?

The mistake was losing vigilance; the mistake was... truly treating oneself like a pet monkey.

If you admit your mistakes, you should correct them. If you're truly useless to me, I'll really treat you like a monkey from now on, and you'll truly become a monkey at the mercy of others.

Sixteen suddenly shuddered. Yes, it was bound to the boss's soul, or rather, it existed by relying on the boss's soul. Especially after it transmigrated to this world, it broke away from the original main system. It could be said that as long as the boss recognized it, it could continue to exist and grow stronger by relying on the boss's own abilities. Once the boss no longer recognized it, it would quickly collapse and disappear without a trace. Of course, there might be a crackling sound and a small spark.