Chapter 750: Treasure and Handkerchief

"Mother!"

While Auntie Auntie Ai Ma was talking with Li Ang, little Ellie sensibly didn't come over to interrupt, only occasionally casting a longing glance in their direction.

After Auntie Auntie Ai Ma finished the conversation and entered the garden, the already impatient Ellie finally couldn't help running over, gently tugging at the hem of Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's skirt, and proudly holding up what was in her hand.

"Look, look!"

This is... holly berries?

After identifying the small orange-red fruit in front of her, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma smiled softly, bent down, plucked a leaf hanging from Ellie's bonnet, and said:

"How wonderful. I thought all the holly berries in the garden had already been eaten by the little animals... where did you find them?"

"Over there!"

After pointing at the small patch of bushes that had been pulled apart, little Ellie, with fine sweat on her temples and a few specks of dirt on her nose, said with sparkling eyes:

"Big Sister Melanie took me inside to have a look. There were these little red berries growing in there, and there were also lots of paw prints like little dogs!"

Paw prints like little dogs?

Hearing this, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma paused slightly and said, somewhat puzzled:

"Are there dogs in the garden?"

"I don't know... but there really are lots of little paw prints!"

Little Ellie shook her head and said, eyes shining with excitement:

"I've looked over every part of the garden lots of times, but this is the first time I knew there were little dogs! William and the others are so amazing! They only took one look and found paw prints behind the bushes, and they even found a secret passage!"

A secret passage? Is there really a secret passage in the garden?

"Really! There really is a secret passage!"

Seeing Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's somewhat disbelieving expression, little Ellie couldn't help but say anxiously:

"I'm not lying to you. After we found the secret passage, Melanie wanted to crawl in and look. Aunty Anna wouldn't let her crawl in, so William went around to the other side and climbed a tree, and tricked Aunty Anna away... ah!

No! That's not... it wasn't tricking either! It's just... it's just that..."

"..."

Got it. So it was that "feint on the front, strike on the rear" trick—lure Anna away from the mountain, right!

These two little rascals are even teaming up now!

Looking at little Ellie, who had accidentally let the cat out of the bag and was panicking with her hands clamped over her mouth, Li Ang couldn't help but sigh inwardly, then quickly walked into the garden and circled around to the front of the bushes.

Sure enough, a wiggling little bottom was half-stuck in the bushes, with her upper body crawled into the so-called secret passage. Melanie was twisting her bottom desperately while calling out in a muffled voice:

"It stinks! It stinks! Pull me out!"

"Waaah! It stinks to death! Ellie! Ellie, help me!"

"..."

I knew it. You two were bound to cook up some trouble for me!

After forcefully pulling apart the bushes on both sides and yanking Melanie out of the secret passage, Li Ang looked at his sister, who was covered in mud like a little mud monkey, and couldn't help saying with a dark face:

"What did you promise me yesterday? Forgotten?"

"Ah? Big Brother?"

Seeing Li Ang's face darken, Melanie, who had been caught red-handed being naughty, couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt. She pulled herself out of the excitement of discovering the secret passage, gave an awkward smile, and pointed behind her:

"Um... there's a secret passage here! And there seems to be something inside. I even grabbed a handful! It might be some kind of treasure!"

Treasure?

Looking at Melanie's little hand proudly offering it up, Li Ang reached out his palm half in doubt, but after seeing her excited expression, he still let Melanie place the so-called treasure in his palm.

Hmm... blackish-brown, fairly hard, slightly flattened cylindrical shape, about a centimeter or so in diameter, and it smells a bit stinky...

"These look like badger paw prints."

After identifying the "treasure" in Li Ang's hand, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, who had followed carrying her daughter, pointed at the paw prints on the ground and said, barely holding back a laugh:

"The paw prints on the ground don't look like a dog's paws. They have five toes instead, and the front paws look quite a bit larger than the back ones—same as the characteristics of badger paw prints. So what they found probably isn't a secret passage, but a badger's den."

"As for the treasure in your hand... um... do you want to wipe your hand?"

"..."

A treasure dug out of a badger's den... isn't that just dried poop?!

After hearing Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's assessment, Li Ang's hand couldn't help but give a sudden tremble. He hurriedly flung away the dried dung pellet in his hand, and his face instantly darkened several shades. Little Ellie had discovered berries and immediately rushed to bring them to Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, while Melanie, after crawling through the dog hole, had brought her big brother a handful of badger droppings.

The contrast really is stark enough...

As Li Ang glared at Melanie, who had gotten him into trouble, and was vigorously rubbing his palm with a handkerchief, Anna, who had been "lured" away, also came around from the opposite side, tugging William along and breathing slightly heavily.

"I knew it. You two were definitely up to something!"

Seeing Melanie covered in dirt, Anna, who had spent years matching wits with her younger siblings, instantly realized she had been tricked. She grabbed William by the ear and then said through gritted teeth to the awkwardly smiling Melanie:

"The gifts I promised you two are gone! Next week's pocket money is going to be docked too!"

"Wah! No!"

Although she had guessed the gifts might be canceled, she hadn't expected even her pocket money to be docked. Melanie hurriedly looked toward her big brother, who doted on her most, blinked her big eyes pitifully, hoping someone would step forward to "uphold justice." Unfortunately...

"Looking at me won't help!"

After recalling the texture of those dried dung pellets, Li Ang, for once, hardened his heart and said:

"The pocket money is definitely going to be docked, and not just that—the dirty clothes from today have to be washed by yourself too! No asking Anna for help!"

"Waaah!"

After the little commotion caused by the "secret passage treasure," Li Ang's family, at Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's invitation, entered the small wooden cabin built on the side of the garden.

After brushing the dust off all three children, Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma took out two slightly damp towels, handed one to Anna, then picked up little Ellie in her arms and gently began wiping her face.

Anna, meanwhile, pinched her mischievous little sister's cheek with her left hand, and with a wet towel in her right, scrubbed away vigorously as if giving her a bath.

"Gently... gently! It hurts!"

"Hurt or not, deal with it! I can't be gentle!"

"Then... mm... just do it like you did for little sister Ellie!"

"No way!"

Taking the Mao Jin and scrubbing hard at Melanie's forehead, rubbing her little head until it was bright red, Anna said irritably:

"Ellie only had a bit of dust on her face, but the sweat on yours has mixed with dirt into mud — how am I supposed to wipe it off without putting in some effort?"

"But... it hurts!"

With her face pinned, Melanie struggled against her sister's "atrocity" while making one last hopeful plea:

"How about you wipe William's face first? I can wait until Aunt Auntie Auntie Ai Ma is done, then do me..."

"Deal with it!"

"Owww..."

Hmph, my foolish little sister!

Seeing that Melanie still hadn't forgotten to drag him down with her at a time like this, William, whose own face was equally filthy, couldn't help but slant a glance at her, then put his hands behind his back and smile proudly, a sense of intellectual superiority welling up from within.

Although having mud smeared on his face was very uncomfortable, since Sister Anna was in a foul mood, the first person to have their face wiped would definitely have to suffer, so he deliberately stepped back half a pace, letting her wipe his face first, and once Sister Anna's anger had mostly been vented, then...

"William, come here!"

Looking at his sister who was tending to the child and Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, Hearing Li Ang, with empty hands, felt a bit awkward, so he took out a handkerchief from the Mirror World and beckoned to William.

"Don't wait for Anna, I'll wipe your face for you!"

Big brother?

Hearing Li Ang's call, William thought for a moment, decided that switching to big brother didn't seem unacceptable, so he nodded, walked over looking all cool, and tilted his little face up toward Hearing Li Ang.

"Ugh!"

"Big brother, your handkerchief seems to smell a bit..."

(End of chapter)